Over the weekend I had been on a serious hunt for white pumpkins in very specific size. My primary resource for gourds has and continues to be Trader Joes, which I have been diligently visiting for the past few weeks (multiple times each week) hoping those pumpkins would come into stock. In the process of regularly checking for pumpkins (which did end up coming in this past weekend- see my latest instagram post here), Trader Joe's gourd selection caught my eye. Yes, they have a very robust and diverse selection, but what I found most exciting was that they were charging by the unit and not by the pound! $1.99 per gourd regardless of size!! If you have ever bought a butternut squash or spaghetti squash from a grocery store, you know how annoying it can be to see a price tag of sometimes $12 for a really large squash. I mean come on! Well of course I had to take advantage of this insanely great deal and ended up purchasing a number of different gourds (*Note-they can keep for up to 3 months if left unopened).
Since we are only at the very beginning of soup season, I was going to hold off on sharing this recipe for a few more weeks, however in light of my recent findings at Trader Joes, I felt it was necessary to bump up the debut date for my Healthy Butternut Squash Soup recipe. This recipe can be made to be vegan friendly, it's easy to make and full of both flavor and lots of vitamins. There are a few equipment essentials that have made this recipe infinitely easier to make:
- An Immersion Blender (regular blender works too, but an immersion blender is my recommendation)
- A very sharp chef's knife for cutting up the squash (like this one- currently on sale!)
- A good peeler (see my post here, for my favorite peeler)
- A Dutch Oven (a big pot with lid works fine too)
All-in-all, this healthy soup is a must try recipe during the chilly fall and winter months.
Ingredients
- 6c Vegetable Broth
- 1c Water
- 3 lbs Butternut Squash (Peeled and diced into 1" cubes)
- 4 Stalks Celery (Diced)
- 4 Carrots (Peeled and Diced)
- 1 Medium Yellow Onion (Diced)
- 3 Cloves of Garlic (Minced)
- 1 Large Sweet Potato (Cooked, Peeled and Diced)
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1/4 tsp Fresh Ground Pepper
- 2 tsp Salt (+ more as needed to taste)
- 3 Tbs Olive Oil
- 2 Dried Bay Leaves
- Creme Fraiche (Garnish)
- Fresh Thyme Leaves (Garnish)
Instructions
- Heat the Olive Oil on Medium high heat
- Add garlic and cook until it starts to brown (about 2 minutes)
- Add the diced onion, carrots and celery
- Sweat the mirepoix on medium high for approximately 10 minutes
- Add the vegetable stock, water and bay leafs to the pot and bring to a boil
- Then add the butternut squash, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover with lid and cook for approximately 20-25min until squash is fork tender
- Once squash is cooked through, turn off heat, remove bay leaves and with your immersion blender, blend contents until completely smooth
- Add cooked sweet potato pieces to soup and use immersion blender to incorporate sweet potato into the soup until smooth. (*The sweet potato will give the soup some additional body)
- Stir in Cinnamon, Cumin, Pepper and Salt. (*Note- taste to see if more salt is needed and add accordingly)
- Garnish soup with Creme Fraiche and Fresh Thyme Leaves. This soup is great to serve with toasted baguette slices.
