Heya everybody,  Ghosty here. :)

It's Fall and I got a very nice Hokkaido (or Red Kuri) squash from my parent's garden, so of course this cooking cub had to cook up a warm and comforting soup from that.
Not the classic version with cream of coconut this time (even if it's tasty, but I didn't feel like it), but with lots of roasted vegetables and spices.
The advantage of the Red Kuri squash is that you don't need to peel it. The skin is very thin and edible after cooking. Just remove the seeds and fibers and you are good to go.

So... ready for some fall goodness?
Let's cook!

Ingredients:
- 1 red Kuri Squash (mine had about 1,3kg before processing)
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 3-4 big carrots
- 2 red onions
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1 piece of ginger (~2-3cm)
- Some soup greens (celery, parsnip, leek) after your taste
~ 1L vegetable stock or broth (homemade or liquid, no powered stuff please, far to salty)
- 1-2 bay leaves
- fresh thyme
- salt, pepper, spices after your taste (I used from the "Ingo Holland" series: Curry Maharadscha, Curry Jairu, Garam Masal, Gemüseschmackes). Use whatever you like, but make sure it's a good quality. A good curry powder or other mixes can make all the difference.
- freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 star anise
- olive oil, butter
- 100ml cream or Creamfine (low fat creamer)
- course rye bread (My Origin is Frankonian, so I used a sour-dough "Bauerbrot" with a high rye content)
- pumpkin seed oil (I strongly advice to use a Styrian pumpkin seed oil. It's expensive, but the best quality. Nutty, highly aromatic and not bitter)
(Optional: White wine or Rosè for deglazing)

Preparation:
Peel onions, garlic, carrots, celery, ginger and parsnip, wash the leek thoroughly and cut the veggies into small pieces.
Preheat your oven to 200-220°C
Peel the sweet potatoes as well and cut in halves. Wash the Red Kuri squash, remove seeds and fibers (The seeds are edible if you want to use them later) and cut into pieces.
Place sweet potatoes and quash onto a baking tray with baking paper and roast in the oven for about 30-35 minutes. Let it cool down a bit and cut into smaller pieces.
(Of course you can omit this step and use throw the sweet potatoes and squash into the pot and cook. I just wanted to add some aroma by oven roasting them)
In the meantime, heat up some olive oil (and some butter if you like) in a large pot and carefully roast the onions and soup greens. Add garlic, ginger, thyme twigs, star anise and bay leaves and continue to fry.
Deglaze with some wine or broth.
Put in the Hokkaido squash and sweet potatoes and add vegetable broth or stock until everything is covered.
Bring to a boil, then let it cook for about 20-30 minutes on low heat.
Remove the thyme, star anise and bay leaves and blend into a smooth soup with an immersion blender or food processor. If you don't have that, use a fine metal sieve.
Add about 100ml of cream or Creamfine, mix it in and add some more liquid if the soup is too thick.
Season to your taste with salt, freshly ground pepper, freshly grated nutmeg and spices.
Keep the soup warm on low heat until serving.
Prepare some croutons by cutting of the crust of a thick slice of course rye bread, cut the bread into cubes and carefully roast them in a non-stick pan with some butter.

Dress your Hokkaido squash soup into a soup bowl or a soup plate, sprinkle some pumpkin seed oil on top (use sparingly, as it has a very strong taste. It can make your dish awesome and it can ruin it easily).
Top off with some rye bread croutons and a bit of fresh thyme.
Please enjoy your meal! :)