Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Start by roasting the squash, peppers and garlic. Put the squash in an oven heated to 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes. The peppers and garlic will go into the oven about 20 minutes into the squash cooking time. The squash when fully cooked will be very soft when poked with a fork.

Once the vegetables are cooked, pull them out and allow them some time to cool off before handling them.

In the mean time, heat a large soup pot to medium heat, and saute the onion in olive oil until soft. Chop the pepper roughly, and squeeze the now soft cloves of garlic out of the bulb. Scoop the flesh out of the squash skin. Add all of these to the soup pot, then pour in 2 cups of the water.

Puree the soup with a hand blender. Add more water to your desired consistency. Season with the salt and spices, using cayenne to your own preference – it is pretty potent. Stir in the lime zest and juice. Bring the whole pot to a boil, then turn down and simmer for at least 10 minutes, or up to an hour. Serve garnished with pumpkin seeds (which are lovely if lightly toasted in a pan).