Roasted butternut squash and shallot soup

I made this for Easter dinner last week at my mother’s house and it got raves. The original recipe comes from The Cooking Light Gluten-Free Cookbook.

Ingredients

4 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1.5 pounds)

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp salt (I omitted this, like always)

4 large shallots, peeled and halved

1 (1/2-inch) piece peeled fresh ginger, thinly sliced

2 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

2 tbsps chopped fresh chives

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a roasting pan or jelly-roll pan; toss well. Bake at 375 for 50 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Cool 10 minutes.

3. Place half of squash mixture and half of broth in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large saucepan. Repeat procedure with remaining squash mixture and broth. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Top with chives, if desired.

Yield: 6 servings (serving: 2/3 cup soup and 1 tsp chives).