Butternut Squash Soup

It is cold and rainy. I am cooking butternut squash this week with a little apple and onion. I usually double the recipe so that can enjoy it for several days. This simple, silky butternut squash soup is gluten- and dairy-free. It can be made paleo, vegetarian, or vegan. My favorite way to serve it is with a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds on top.

Ingredients

4 Cups vegetable or chicken unsalted stock or broth

1 Large butternut squash, quartered and seeded

1 Onion quartered

1 Green apple peeled and quartered

2 Cloves garlic minced

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 Teaspoon cinnamon

1 Teaspoon real maple syrup

1 Tablespoon olive oil, coconut oil, butter or ghee

2 Tablespoons avocado oil

1 Teaspoon Celtic or Himalayan salt

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 400º. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Coat the inside of butternut squash, the onion, and apple in 1 tablespoon avocado oil. Place on the baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes until the squash is soft.

While the vegetables are cooking, add 1 tablespoon of avocado oil to the soup pan and sauté the garlic until soft. Add the broth and heat.

When vegetables are done, scoop the flesh of the butternut squash out and discard the skin. If you are using an emersion blender, place all of the vegetables into the soup pot with the stock and blend until smooth. If you are using a blender, add the vegetables to the blender and a little bit of the stock. You may need to do this in batches. Hot liquids expand in the blender. Blend until smooth and return to the soup pot.

Add the lemon juice, cinnamon, maple syrup, salt, and olive oil, butter, or ghee. Stir together over a low flame to let flavors marry for 15 minutes.

If your soup is too thick, add more stock (or water in a pinch). If it is too thin, cook down on a low heat with the top off the pot.

Top with a sprinkle of pumpkin or hemp seeds. For a protein boost, stir a scoop of collagen protein powder into your serving bowl.

The soup is even better the next day!