Roasted Pumpkin and Apple Soup

A hot, rich, creamy soup made with fall vegetables and fruit, warms the soul in winter.
1 sugar pumpkin (about 6-inch diameter), sliced and seeded
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
1 sweet potato (1/2-lb), peeled and diced
1 Tbsp fresh (1/4 tsp dried) thyme
6 sage leaves, finely chopped
6-8 cups turkey or vegetable broth
freshly-grated nutmeg, about 1/4 tsp

Preheat oven to 400F.  Toss the pumpkin wedges with some olive oil on a rimmed jelly-roll baking pan.  Salt and pepper generously. Roast pumpkin for about 30 minutes, until pulp is soft and nicely browned.  You can turn them over once, halfway through.

Meanwhile, sauté the onion in a soup pot for about 5 minutes.

Add the apple and sweet potato along with the thyme and sage, and cook another 5-8 minutes, stirring often. 

Remove pumpkin from the oven and scrape pulp from the skin. 

Add the pumpkin and 6 cups of the broth to the soup pot and bring to a boil.  Add the nutmeg.  Reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft.  Cream the soup using an immersion blender.  Add any remaining broth needed to achieve the consistency you like for your soup.  Ladle into bowls and serve with crusty bread.

Serves 6-8.

Cook's note:  For those who like a kicked-up soup, try roasting a jalapeno pepper with your pumpkin!