Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients (for 6)

1 butternut squash
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
salt and pepper
2 cups stock (home-made chicken or Thanksgiving turkey stock are good; or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons thick coconut milk
fresh cilantro or chives

Method

Prepare and cook the squash by cutting it in half, removing the seeds and stringy bits, brushing with a little olive oil and roasting the halves cut-side down at 400 degrees until tender, 40 minutes or so. (The Vitamix recipe book offers a handy tip - first prick the squash and microwave it briefly. This softens it a little, making it much easier to halve and scoop the flesh.)

Place the stock plus 1 cup water, the squash, onion, celery, carrot, salt and pepper into the Vitamix container in this order, and replace the lid. Process, starting at Variable 1 and gradually increasing speed to Variable 8. Blend until steam starts escaping from the lid (about 6 minutes). Check seasoning and consistency, adding more hot water if desired.

To serve, pour into warmed soup bowls. Swirl a little coconut milk into each and sprinkle chopped herbs over.