Butternut Squash Soup with a Kick
Soup is one of my favorite food groups (I realize that soup isn’t actually a food group). It is my favorite cure to a frigid miserable winter day. Currently, soup is my only motive to get off the couch. I’m in the midst of a snow day, and soup is forcing me to follow it’s fantastic aroma into the kitchen to check on it once every ten-ish minutes, and I don’t mind at all. If I was forced to eat soup everyday for the rest of my life, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. I would never complain about it either.
Another reason why soup is so great is that it creates lunch for days.* You can make a crap ton of it, and eat it all week. You can even freeze it, and heat it up a couple weeks later. It’s so versatile. I love it.
So, one day when you’re sitting at home, because you’re snowed in and you have a couple of butternut squashes lying around, I recommend that you try this recipe. You won’t regret it. And then you’ll have lunch for days. DAYS.
Ingredients
- 2 butternut squashes
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 Medium onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ginger, or 1 tablespoon powered ginger
- 3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon thyme
- a couple of dashes of cayenne pepper (Warning: do not use too much of this, it will ruin your soup. This is also the “kick” factor of the soup)
- salt and pepper to taste
- Chopped parsley, for garnish
Instructions
Step 1: Bake the Squashes. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Use vegetable oil on a baking sheet. Cut squashes in half, and lay them with the cut side facing down on the baking sheet. Bake until the squash is soft. This takes about 1 hour.
Once the squashes are finished baking, use a pairing knife to remove the peel. Cube the Squashes into 1-2 inch pieces. Set aside.
Step 2: Begin making the soup base. Heat a large pot with vegetable oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, thyme, and cinnamon stick. Cook about 5 minutes until onion is done. Add squash, and vegetable broth. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick.
Step 3: Puree the soup. I separated the soup into 2 batches, and used my food processor to blend everything. You can also use a blender to do this. Be careful, because this can get messy very quickly. The last thing you want to be doing is cleaning soup off the ceiling after putting so much time, effort, and love into this delicious meal. Once the soup is pureed, carefully return it back to its original pot. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Simmer a little bit longer. Add more vegetable broth to thin the soup, if necessary.
Step 4: Eat lots of soup. Garnish with fresh parsley, ladle soup into a bowl, grab a spoon, and dig in!
*Soup can also be eaten for Breakfast and Dinner, and snacks. Don’t forget about snacks. We call those “Soup Snacks”
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