This is the perfect season to enjoy a warm bowl of our Roasted Butternut Sqaush & Garlic Soup. Roasting the squash and garlic for the soup gives it an amazing depth of flavour and is very easy to do. Butternut squash is rich in vitamins A and C, fiber, and antioxidants like beta-carotene. The soup has a hint of sweetness from the addition of an apple and bit of heat from the fresh ginger. I love to serve mine with a scattering of pepitas on top. They add crunch and protein.
Serves 6
Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash
1 bulb of garlic (3-4 large cloves) intact
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large carrot diced
3 ribs celery diced
1 large onion diced
1 - 1 inch piece of fresh ginger - peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
1 apple - peeled, cored and diced
4 cups chicken broth - try Roasting a Chicken for Broth, found on our blog
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt (reduce to 1/2 tsp if using store bought chicken broth)
1/2 fresh nutmeg grated, or 1/8 tsp ground
3 fresh thyme sprigs, or 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
3-5 fresh sage leaves, chopped, or 1/4 tsp dried
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees and place rack in the middle. Line a baking sheet with foil
2. Carefully, cut open the squash lengthwise and scoop out all seeds and stringy bits. I use a big ice cream scoop for this and it really helps
3. Brush liberally with olive oil on flesh side and place flesh side down on the prepared baking sheet.
4. Cut the top 1/2 inch off the garlic bulb to expose the cloves inside, place in a piece of foil and drizzle with olive oil, wrap it up and place beside squash
5. Put squash and garlic in the oven and roast for about 45 minutes, or until the neck of the squash can be easily pierced with a fork
6. Heat remaining olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot, or Dutch oven over medium high heat (6 out of 10)
7. Once hot, add carrots, celery and onion, saute about 10 minutes, add ginger and saute 5 minutes more
8. When squash is cooked, remove it, and the garlic, from the oven and allow to cool sufficiently to be handled, about 10 minutes
9. Add apple and broth to sauted vegetables
10. Scoop out all the squash flesh and add to the pot, squeeze the head of garlic to release its contents into the pot as well
11. Add herbs and spices
12. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low (2 out of 10) for 20 minutes
13, Remove thyme sprigs before blending
14, Use an immersion blender or a countertop blender to process until completely smooth
15. Serve hot, with such toppings as creme fraiche and/or pepitas
Notes:
Place whole squash on a non-slip surface and use a very sharp, large knife to cut it, while it is laying on it's side.
If using a countertop blender, process soup in batches and hold the lid down with a tea towel or oven mit. Be extremely careful - it's HOT
Topping each serving with 1/8 cup of pepitas adds 4g of protein, 5g of fiber and 110mg of potassium!
You can substitute any winter squash for the butternut squash, depending what you have on hand. Adjust squash/broth amounts accordingly for a thick soup.
Nutrition Facts:
Servings: 6
Calories 194
Total Fat 9.5g 12% Saturated Fat 1.4g 7% Cholesterol 1mg 0% Sodium 256mg 11% Total Carbohydrate 29.4g 11% Dietary Fiber 8.2g 29%
Total Sugars 6.8g Protein 3.7g Calcium 143mg 11% Iron 8mg 44% Potassium 668mg 14%
The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice.
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