Curried Butternut Squash and Apple Bisque

Ingredients

• 2 butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• Olive oil
• 2 sweet onions (such as Vidalia), diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 quarts vegetable stock
• 1 (8.4 ounce) package medium-hot curry sauce (such as S&b Golden Curry)
• 2 Granny Smith apples, cored and diced
• 2 (14 ounce) cans unsweetened coconut cream
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, or to taste
• 16 fresh cilantro leaves, or to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Place squash onto a baking sheet cut-side down.

Bake squash in preheated oven until the skin loosens from the flesh, about 40 minutes.

Heat olive oil in a 5-quart stockpot over medium-high heat. Cook and stir onion and garlic in hot oil until the onion is translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vegetable stock, curry sauce, and apples to the stockpot; bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium-low.

Cut squash into 1-inch cubes; add to the stockpot. Bring the mixture again to a simmer, place a cover on the pot, and cook, stirring once every 15 minutes, until the squash is tender and breaks apart easily when stirred, about 2 hours.

Remove pot from heat and blend soup with an immersion blender until completely pureed. Pour coconut cream into the soup; continue blending until creamy. Top each serving with toasted pine nuts and a couple of leaves of cilantro.