Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 butternut squashes
• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 2 whole garlic heads
• 1 large sweet onion – finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 5 sweet pork (or sweet chicken) sausages – casings removed
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 quart + additional as needed low sodium vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon olive oil + olive oil for roasting the squashes/potatoes
• salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut the squashes in 1/2 and remove the seeds, poke holes in the sweet potatoes. Sprinkle the cut squash and sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper on a roasting sheet. Wrap the 2 heads of garlic in foil sprinkled with olive oil, salt and pepper and make into a small package. Roast all for 1 1/2 hours (or until fork tender).
3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a dutch oven, add the sausage meat and cook for 7 to 10 minutes; add the chopped onion, S&P, coriander and cumin and saute for 5 to 7 minutes. Add 1 quart of vegetable broth and the bay leaf and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Remove the bay leaf, add the garlic, squash and sweet potato and blend with an immersion blender (you can use a blender if you prefer). If the soup is too thick for you add additional vegetable broth until it is the consistency you like.
5. Top with croutons. Since I am totally gluten free I don’t have bread around to just make croutons so I bake this easy focaccia bread then cut it into croutons pieces – see recipe below.

Roasted Garlic Fresh Thyme Focaccia Bread

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon PurePalm Organic Coconut Palm Sugar
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 1/2 cups Pamela’s Gluten Free Flour http://www.pamelasproducts.com/
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons olive oil + extra for croutons
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 5 to 6 cloves roasted garlic finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Dissolve the Coconut Palm Sugar in the warm water, add the yeast. Let mixture stand for about 5 minutes
3. In a separate bowl whisk the flour, salt, fresh thyme together.
4. Add the egg and olive oil to the yeast and mix. Add mixture to the dry ingredients, add the garlic and combine all the ingredients.
5. Spray a 9 x 9 pan with non stick spray, spread the dough, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 20 minutes.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (until top is golden brown and bread pulls away from the sides of the pan.
7. Let cool and serve, or cut into crouton pieces, sprinkle lightly with olive oil and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.