Now that I have at least 10 pounds of butternut squash in my garage I decided it was time to come up my own soup recipe because here on the West Coast of BC the temperature has dropped and the rains have started. This version is dairy-free with a bit of a kick. I was going to use a blend of Indian spices then decided against it and went with spices that would be considered a little more traditional.
The crowning glory is topping a bowl with a generous helping of raw pumpkin seeds toasted in avocado oil and pink Himalayan sea salt. I find roasting the squash and onions creates a nice flavour. When it comes to peeling your squash it’s easiest if you use a vegetable peeler, then cut it in half (just above the bulbous bottom part to be exact) and then cut both pieces lengthwise so you can clean the seeds out from the bottom part. When everything is cooked and heated through I blend it in my high speed blender in small patches until it’s nice and silky smooth. Feel free to add extra broth until you achieve the consistency you want.
This soup (I think it’s more like a bisque) is quite dense and I find a cup is more than enough if you have it with a big salad on the side.
Roasted Butternut Squash
Author: Cassie Elliott
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
- 1 butternut squash, approximately 8 cups chopped
- 1 large yellow onion
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 6 oz. coconut milk
- 4 cups organic chicken broth
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Peel squash, remove seeds and chop into 1 inch pieces.
- Slice onion into 1/2 pieces.
- Put both in a bowl, add oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Toss to coat evenly.
- Put squash and onions onto parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Roast for 15 – 20 minutes or until fork tender.
- Remove from oven and add to large stock pot.
- Add chicken broth and coconut milk.
- Add remaining ingredients and heat just until it starts to boil.
- Remove from heat and let cool for approximately 5 minutes.
- Using high speed blender, blend soup in small batches until smooth.
- Return to pot and keep warm until ready to serve.
Toasted Raw Pumpkin Seeds
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil
- 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
- Heat the avocado oil in a medium size skillet over medium heat.
- Add pumpkin seeds.
- Season with salt.
- Stir often until most of the seeds have turned slightly golden brown.
- Remove from pan and place on paper towel lined plate to cool.
Use to garnish soup.
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