Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Place butternut squash halves on a large rimmed baking sheet flesh side up. Place 1 teaspoon of butter in the middle of each squash half. Season with salt and black pepper. Roast for 25 minutes, until flesh is fork-tender. Remove from oven and allow to cool. When it is cool enough to handle scoop out the flesh and place in a mixing bowl. With a fork or potato masher mash the cooked squash until slightly smooth. (It doesn’t have to be perfect.)

For the soup:
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add the onion, celery and carrot and saute until soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for several minutes. Stir in reserved squash until smooth. Simmer gently to let the flavors marry, about 10 minutes.

Puree the soup using an immersion blender. You can also puree it in small batches in a blender until smooth. Return the soup to the pan and reheat gently. Add the half-and-half. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Top each serving with pumpkin seeds.