Roasted Pumpkin and Butternut Squash Soup

So I told you, it's not always about sweets...it's been kind of cold and rainy, what better way to warm up than with some creamy soup.

Go ahead...it's easier than you think

***

Roasted Pumpkin & Butternut Squash Soup

1 medium pumpkin (sugar pumpkin would work) 1 medium butternut squash
1 cup leeks
2 small cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
5-6 cups vegetable broth
1/4-1/2 cup cream
2 teaspoons brown sugar
a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
* for some heat, maybe a little cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut pumpkin and butternut squash into 2-inch chunks, removing the inner seeds and fibrous bits. Slice the white flesh up until the green stalks of several leeks. Toss the pumpkin, squash, whole garlic cloves and leeks on a baking tray with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until a fork inserted in the flesh of the pumpkin and squash meets no resistance.

Remove from the oven and allow them to rest until cool enough to handle.

When cooled, use a spoon to scoop the cooked flesh away from the squash peel and place in a large saucepan. Add the roasted garlic and leeks to the pan too. Add 3 cups of warm vegetable broth and using a hand blender, blend and breakdown the squash flesh with the broth. If you don’t have a hand blender, blending the chunky soup in a regular blender in batches should work too. Add 2 to 3 more cups of broth and blend until you’ve reached the desired consistency. Add sugar and nutmeg.

Cook soup over medium heat for 30 minutes.

Add cream and salt and pepper to taste.

Stir.

Serve warm.