Curried Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Soup

Roasting the Vegetables

Preheat oven to 400°
Scrub the potatoes and pierce with a fork. Wrap in foil
Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds.
Lay potatoes and squash on a foil lined baking sheet and roast for 1 hour or until you can pierce easily with a fork. Let cool completely and then peel the sweet potatoes and cube. Scoop out the squash into a bowl. TIP: I roasted these the night before I made the soup and cooled overnight in the fridge. Peeling the sweet potatoes is much easier when cold.

Soup

Puree in a food processor or blender in batches with 2/3 of a can of coconut milk
Place pears in food processor or blender and puree with the remaining 1/3 of the coconut milk. Set aside in a bowl.
Place pears in food processor or blender and puree with the remaining 1/3 of the coconut milk
In a heavy pot, melt 2 tablespoons of butter on low heat. Add the flour, cumin, curry powder, salt, white pepper, cinnamon and star anise. Add the second can of coconut milk and stir to incorporate. Add the red curry paste and continue to cook on low heat, stirring frequently to make sure everything is blended thoroughly.
Add the sweet potatoes and squash and continue to cook on low heat until it's simmering
Pour in the pear mixture and the vegetable broth a simmer for 15 minutes
I added 1 cup of milk to give a little extra creaminess to the soup. For those who would prefer to use extra coconut milk, please do
Return to the blender in batches to smooth out any remaining lumps and serve immediately