Butternut Squash Soup with Chickpea Croutons

Emily and I got the squash pack from Bountiful Baskets a couple of months ago. Besides the spaghetti squash and acorn squash, we ended up with 7 butternut squash. This past week, we finally finished them off using this recipe. The original recipe came from My New Roots, but we adapted it to our tastes. I think the chickpeas really provide a good balance for the soup, so don't leave them out.

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash
1 large yellow onion
4 large cloves garlic
2 tsp. coconut oil or olive oil, plus olive oil for garnish
salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)
4 cups vegetable broth
2 tsp. ground turmeric powder
1-2 tsp dried rosemary and thyme (optional)
Chickpea croutons (Recipe below)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut the butternut squash into even chunks and place on a baking sheet. Peel and cut onions into quarters, add to baking sheet. Peel whole cloves of garlic and add to baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and toss well to coat. Place in oven and roast until the squash is tender.

In a large blender pour 4 cups hot vegetable broth, turmeric, rosemary and thyme. Remove butternut squash from skin and add the roasted vegetables to the blender. Blend on high until completely smooth (let blender run for a minute or so). If the soup is too thick, add more broth to thin to desired consistency. Season to taste. Serve with croutons.

Croutons
3 cups or 2 cans cooked chickpeas – drained and well-rinsed
3 Tbsp. coconut oil or olive oil
1 tsp. coarse sea salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. smoked paprika or ground chipotle pepper
1 tsp. chili powder

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the chickpeas in a medium bowl and toss with oil and spices until coated. Spread the chickpeas on a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put in oven until they turn golden and crisp up, stirring occasionally. It takes about 25-35 minutes. They will crisp a little more outside of the oven, so you may want to take them out before they are completely crisped.