Autumn Roasted Vegetable Soup

Preheat oven to 450° (convection oven to 400°). Cut squash and pumpkin in half, and scoop out seeds. Cut sweet potatoes in half. Rub all halves with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and curry powder, and place flesh sides down on a cookie sheet. Roast about 30 minutes or until tender. Let cool.                                                                                        

In a soup pot, melt coconut oil and saute onions, ginger and apricots until soft. Add broth, drained chickpeas and spices. Simmer for 15 minutes on low heat.                                                 

Once the vegetables are cool, scoop out flesh and add to soup pot. Using an immersion stick blender or an upright blender, puree soup. (If using upright blender, process a few cups at a time, placing pureed soup in another pot.) If soup looks too thick, add more broth.

Place pecans on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with curry powder and toast in a 400° oven for four minutes. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with fresh parsley and toasted pecans. (Recipe♦146)