A Fall (in love) Butternut Squash Soup

Fall is officially here and the weather nowadays gives it the final seal. I think I LOVE everything about this beautiful season: the weather, the colors, the holidays…There’s something so graceful about the process that nature is going through that I just don’t want it to end…

This inspiring time of year when the markets are filled with root vegetables, pumpkins, butternut squash and other fall vegetables makes it unavoidable to create a few dishes. Fall dishes are the BEST! This soup is all about fall’s flavors and colors; its texture is so velvety and comforting that it easily carries us into winter days as well…

You will need:

2 tbsp. Olive Oil

1 small Onion

2 stalks of Celery

1 big Carrot (or 2 medium ones)

1 medium Butternut Squash

2-3 Garlic cloves

400 ml. (a little less than 2 cups) Coconut Milk

3+ cups of Water

1 inch Ginger Root

1 inch Turmeric Root (optional)

1 Bay Leaf

½ tsp. Turmeric

½ tsp. Black Pepper

1 tsp. Salt

For Plating (Optional):

Harissa

Coconut Chips

Fried Turmeric Root

You will also need:

A hand stick blender

(it is the easiest and the cleanest way to blend the soup, but of course a blender or a food processor work as well)

Let’s get to work!

This soup story starts like many others: “Mirepoix” – Three classic taste builders – Onion, Carrot and Celery, aka “The Holy Trinity” or as I like to call them: “Soup Starters”.

Start with the onion, chop it and add to the pot with the olive oil. Allow it to sweat for couple of minutes on medium heat before adding the carrot and celery.

Meanwhile chop the carrot and celery into small and equal pieces.

Add the carrot and celery to the pot and cook for couple more minutes.

Think you need muscles to handle the Butternut Squash? This is what makes my life a little easier:

Use a big wide knife and first cut right where “the neck” meets the curvy/bottom part of the butternut squash. A little Tip: If you don’t use the whole butternut squash, choose to use the bottom part (the part with the seeds) first. The other part (without the seeds) stores better and longer in the refrigerator. This time we use the whole butternut squash, so after cutting at “the neck”, cut each part in half.

Clear the seeds from the bottom part. My grapefruit spoon is perfect for this task! It really should be called “a butternut squash spoon” 🙂

Now it is very easy to cut into equal cubes. Equal pieces cook evenly, so stick with a little less than an inch sized cubes, but do not worry too much since this soup is going to be puréed.

Add the butternut squash cubes to the pot and give it a little stir.

Give each garlic clove a little smash for easy peel, chop it and add to the pot.

Using a grater, grate a little ginger root and a little turmeric root over the pot to enhance the flavors…

Add black pepper and dry turmeric.

Time to add the coconut milk.

At this point add water just enough to barely cover all the vegetables in the pot. Don’t forget the bay leaf for extra aroma.

Add the salt, crank the heat up and allow it all to come to a boil. After boiling for couple of minutes lower the heat to the lowest flame, cover the pot and cook for about 30 minutes. When you can smell the AMAZING soup aroma all over the house, you’ll know the 30 minutes are up.

Turn the heat off, uncover the pot and remove the bay leaf.

Time to get the stick blender…

Place it in the center of the pot, lifting it just a little from the very bottom surface and blend the soup carefully moving the stick around slowly to achieve a unified and velvety texture.

The soup is ready!

For some optional Toppings: You may cut turmeric root into thin circles and fry them until they lightly crisp up, add a little coarse salt on them; they still keep their distinctive turmeric taste, so one or two on each servings is enough. Classic homemade croutons are great in this soup! Another fun topping is coconut chips, I also use one or two chips just to fancy things up. To give this velvety soup a little “kick”, I like to loosen up Harissa paste with some oil and use a little bit to top each serving. This combo of flavors will make the leaves blow off the trees… 🙂

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Quick Recipe:

Butternut Squash Soup-

Chop Onion, Celery and Carrot to small and equal pieces.

Sauté the Onions in the Olive Oil on medium heat for couple on minutes.

Add Celery and Carrots and cook for another minute or two.

Add cubes of Butternut Squash and minced Garlic.

Grate Ginger Root and Turmeric Root into the pot.

Add dry Spices Black Pepper and Turmeric.

Pour in Coconut Milk and add Bay leaf.

Add cold Water to reach all vegetables’ level and bring to a boil.

Cover the pot and cook on low heat for about 30 minutes.

Using a hand blender stick, blend to a smooth soup.