Roasted Squash and Chickpea Soup

One day, last fall (that's right I said fall... I'm a bit behind on some of my recipes, OK?) the hubby decided he wanted soup. He wanted something hearty and that would produce a good amount of soup so we wouldn't need to make anything for a couple of days. Also he was hoping for it to be cost effective.

Now  I also had some requirements. I wanted it to be healthy and to taste good. I also was hoping for it to be fairly low on calories, so I could make some Foccacia (recipe coming in next post) and not feel guilty about it. Besides, healthy and low calorie aren't the same thing.

We already had some onions, olive oil and garlic (a staple in my kitchen) and chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) so I didn't need to grab too much when we went to the store.

Butternut squash, rutabaga, and sweet potato plus a little fresh basil were all I needed to grab and I managed to get out of the store in less than $8 (silly basil was the most expensive and would have gotten outta there for less than $5 if it hadn't been for it... I HAVE to start growing my own herbs).

I have to admit, it wasn't my handy work in the kitchen that came up with this fantastic concoction, but the hubby. He did a great job with barely any backseat cooking coming from me.


Roasted Squash and Chickpea Soup
This makes a HUGE amount of soup, approx. 14 servings at under 200 calories per

• 2 large butternut squash
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 large Rutabaga, peeled and cubed (if you don't have a rutabaga use a head of cauliflower)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 onions, diced
• water
• 2 19oz(538g) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed well
• salt & pepper to taste
• Fresh basil leaves (optional)

Preheat oven to 400F(200C). Place butternut squash and potatoes on a baking sheet (if using cauliflower add this to the baking pan). Sprinkle with just a pinch of salt and place in the oven. Allow to roast until a fork can easily break up the inside of the squash and the potato, about 30 minutes depending on the size of the squash. Remove and allow to cool a few minutes.

While waiting for the roasted veggies to cool, place a large soup pan on the oven over medium high heat. Add in the olive oil. Once the olive oil is heated just a bit (30 seconds to a minute), add in the garlic and onions. Saute until translucent.

Take a fork or a spoon and scoop out all of the "meat" from the squash and put it in the soup pan, along with the rutabaga(cauliflower) and potato cubes.

Add in water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to just under medium and allow to simmer about 1 hour or until everything is very tender.

If you have an immersion blender, blend the vegetables until smooth. If not, using a slotted spoon, remove the chunks from the soup and place in large bowl. Take a potato masher/fork/allow to cool and use your hands if you must, but make sure to mash up the vegetables then return to the soup pan.

Stir well and add in the chickpeas. Allow to cook about 10 minutes and add in the salt and pepper. Stir. Taste and add more salt and pepper if need be.

Serve with a couple of basil leaves and some delicious bread!

This soup has a hint of sweet to it from the sweet potatoes and the squash but is still savory and a fantastic soup for any kind of cool weather, be it fall, winter, or early spring. It also freezes well, minus the basil of course!