Smashing Squash Soup

April 19, 2016 0 0

Smashing Squash Soup!

This soup is unbelievably velvety and rich-tasting, yet it is so healthy and also simple to make. Once the squash and onion are roasted, the blender does the rest of the work and soup is served! It is a delicious warming winter soup a wonderful way to warm you up after a damp, cold, wet run!

The butternut provides significant amounts of potassium, important for bone health, and vitamin B6, essential for the proper functioning of both the nervous and immune systems as well as lots of vitamin A. The added cashews give a wonderful creaminess to the soup whilst boosting the protein content as well as providing an abundant source of essential minerals. Manganese, potassium, copper, iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium are all found in these

nuts. I did make one change to this recipe. I peeled & chopped the butternut before roasting to cut down on cooking time, apart from that I kept everything the same and it was.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

3-lb whole unpeeled butternut or other deep orange winter squash
1 large or 2 small whole, unpeeled onions
2 cups water, plus more, if desired, to thin
1/2 cup soaked and drained raw cashews
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary (see note)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1 medium-large clove garlic

Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the squash and onion on the prepared sheet and bake for an hour or longer, until the squash is completely tender when pierced through. (Baking time will vary depending on the size of the vegetables. If you use 2 smaller squash to total 3 pounds, they will cook quicker.)

Remove squash and onion from oven and cut the squash lengthwise to accelerate cooling so you can handle. Meanwhile, add the water, cashews, lemon juice, rosemary, sea salt, cinnamon, allspice, and garlic to a blender. Puree until smooth and silky. Remove the skins and seeds from the squash and add the flesh to the blender. Remove the outer tough layer of skin from the onion and add the whole roasted onion to the blender. Puree with the cashew mixture until smooth. If your blender isn’t large, puree in batches.) If more water is needed, add enough to loosen/thin

the mixture and puree again. Transfer the mixture to a pot, scraping the blender with a spatula to loosen all the mixture. Gently heat the soup, season with extra salt if desired, and extra water to thin if you like, then serve.

Spices Note: Children may enjoy this soup without rosemary, and even without the cinnamon and allspice. The caramelized onion and roasted squash add so much flavour!

Idea: This soup is so thick it can stand in for a pasta sauce—try in a baked pasta!