Butternut Squash soup is a great paleo meal that really fills you up. It is simply made from pureeing roasted squash, apple, and shallot with spices and broth. It is loaded up with stuff that is good for you. This recipe is gluten free, and easily be made vegan by substituting the chicken broth for vegetable broth. The apple lends a slight sweetness to the soup, while the spices pack lots of flavor. Next time I make this soup I will make a double batch and stash some in my freezer for later.
I like my squash soup nice and thick, but you can add as much broth as you like.
Serves: 4
Total Time: about 1 hour
You will need:
1 Squash
1 Granny Smith Apple
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Cumin
a dash of Chili Powder
2 shallots
1-2 cups Chicken or Vegetable Broth
Step 1:
Heat your oven to 400 degrees.
step 2:
Cutting squash isn’t easy. You can often find chopped squash at the grocery store, and this is a great time saver. Some people peel squash and then chop it. I don’t. This is what I do. First off, use your sharpest knife. Then I lay the squash down, and cut it into 2 inch slices. Then you will have a bunch of round slices of squash. Then I roughly cut off the skin, cut out around the seeds, and dice the squash. This soup will be pureed, so there is no need to make your dicing neat.
Step 3:
Dice the apple. Then place the apple and squash in a large baking dish. Add the olive oil, salt, pepper, cinnamon, cumin, and chili powder. Toss everything together, and then place in the oven for 20 minutes.
Step 4:
Slice your shallot. Shallots roast more quickly than the squash and apples, so I add it later. If you don’t want to use shallot, you can use onion instead. Once the apples and squash have roasted for 20 minutes, add the shallot. Then roast for another 20 minutes.
Step 5:
After the apples and squash have roasted for 40 minutes total, remove them from the oven. Next you need to add broth and blend the soup. You can do this with a blender, or an immersion blender. If you are using a blender, place the contents of the baking pan into a blender. Then add 1 cup of broth. Blend on the puree setting. Add more liquid, until the soup is spinning in the blender. Feel free to add extra broth to achieve the consistency you desire. If you are using an immersion blender, place everything in a large pot and then blend.