Savoury Butternut Squash Soup

It’s spriiiiiiiing!!!!! How delightful! My wonderful friend Snejina brought me our favourite flowers a few days ago. Freesias!

Yesterday I went to school without a hat and gloves and I wore my jacket unbuttoned! It was the most awesome sensation! Don’t you feel sometimes that it’s so wonderful to have a body and enjoy the little joys brought on by the environment?

Or maybe it isn’t. Today I woke up to this:

I won’t complain because this was the mildest winter I’ve ever experienced since I’m in Canada. I know that it will take some time for spring to settle down and I’m willing to put up with a few cold days while waiting for the cherry trees in High Park to bloom. But I’ll celebrate the coming of spring anyway by waking up my hibernating blog. I know you missed it

This soup is made from a recipe that Shireen, my boyfriend’s mom, shared with me a few months ago. It kept us warm through the last few months and I hope it will keep you warm through the last days of winter.

Both my boyfriend and I are great fans of butternut squash. However, I’ve been trying for a while to make a perfectly balanced butternut squash soup, sweet, spicy and savoury, but it was always too much of something: too spicy, too heavy or, most of the time, too sweet. I was so happy and also a little bit jealous when I tried this recipe for the first time. Jealous because it was so simple and I’ve been trying so hard to get it right for so long! However, I changed a few things to make it vegan and a little lighter (for example, I use coconut oil instead of butter, vegetable stock instead of chicken stock and I reduced the coconut milk amount). I also usually roast the butternut squash for infusing more aroma into the soup. So my ego is happy

Are you ready for the magical recipe? Look, some elephants came all the way from India to see and taste it!

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

3 ½ Tbsp cold pressed coconut oil

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 red pepper, chopped

1 medium butternut squash, halved and deseeded

1 medium potato, peeled and cubed

1 apple, peeled and cubed

4 1/2 cups vegetable stock

1 Tbsp mild curry powder

¼ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp thyme

¼ tsp crushed chilies

½ Tbsp ground fresh ginger

½ cup coconut milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

• Brush the tops of the halved butternut squash with coconut oil and roast it at 300F/150C for approximately 45 minutes or until soft.
• Add the coconut oil to a large pot on medium heat, then add onion, garlic and all the spices. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Add the pepper, cubed potato, apple, vegetable stock and olive oil. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook for 30 minutes or until they are all nice and soft.
• Scoop the “meat” of the roasted butternut squash and combine it with the other ingredients in the pot. Also, add the coconut milk to the pot.
• Pour the soup into a blender but fill only half of the jug, otherwise it will overflow and burn you. Puree the soup in batches until soft (or chunky, depending on your preference).
• Garnish with saffron, thyme, or coconut milk.

Enjoy with your lover on a chilly afternoon

How are you spending your last days of winter? Studying, anyone? Or maybe preparing for Nowruz (Persian new year)? I’m super excited to prepare our 7 sin table!

Later edit: After our butternut squash feast, we were able to get an exclusive interview with one of our colourful elephant guests who enjoyed our soup:

Spelonca: Hello Mr. Elephant, how did you like the soup?

Elephant: Dear lady, we loved the soup. I would add more curry and a little bit of cinnamon if I were to serve it to my family in India but this was just great, thank you very much.

Spelonca: Thank you Mr. Elephant, have a great trip back home!