Orange Vegetables and Pineapple Soup

One of the best remedies for grey gloomy days, is to have a bowl of bright colored, velvety tasty warm soup.
Among my first choices for such a soup, is one made with orange colored vegetables, cooked with orange zest and juice. The combination of these sweetish vegetables, with the slight acidity of the orange, and the highly aromatic zest, works every time. The fact that the soup is packed with A and C vitamins is a welcomed bonus.
Having such a soup in mind, I was all set to cook it, when I noticed I also had some nice ripe cut pineapple, which needed to be used in a tasty way. I figured it could pair well with the rest of ingredients, so it quickly found its way into the pot. A bit of pickled ginger also found its way there, and, for a bit of spiciness, some Sriracha hot sauce.
The unique fruity pineapple aroma and flavor elevated the soup to a new level, and enhanced the bright color even more. It seems that from now on it’s going to be a permanent addition to this type of soups in my kitchen. Try it and enjoy.

Notes:
* The soup freezes well, so it makes sense to prepare this fairly large amount.
* Chicken or beef stock can replace the vegetable stock.

Makes: 8-10
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
½ medium butternut squash
2 large carrots
1 large sweet potato
1 large white onion
1 orange bell pepper
1 large orange
2 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground four peppers mix
8 cups (2 liters) vegetable stock (see notes)
1 cup water
2-3 bay leaves
Zest of ½ orange
3 Tbs pickled ginger
2 cups fresh ripe pineapple
Sriracha hot sauce (or any other), to taste
For serving:
Sliced fresh ripe pineapple

1. Peel the butternut squash, carrots, sweet potato and onion, and cut roughly. Remove the seeds of the pepper and cut roughly. Scrub and dry the orange, remove the zest of half of it with a vegetable peeler, and squeeze the juice.

2. In a large pot, mix the onion with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Sauté over medium heat, for 2-3 minutes, until soft. Add the cut vegetables, mix and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the vegetable stock, water, bay leaves, orange zest, ginger and pineapple. Mix well, bring to the boil, lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are very soft.

4. Add the orange juice, mix and cook for 5 minutes.

5. Discard the bay leaves and puree with a hand blender to a smooth soup. Strain through a fine strainer and discard the pulp. Add the hot sauce, mix, taste and adjust seasoning.

6. Serve with sliced fresh pineapple on top.