Winter Squash Soup

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Delicious, creamy squash soup loaded with fiber and protein and plant based goodness.

Prep Time1

Cook Time1 30

Total Time2 30

Course: dinner, Soup

Cuisine: Plant Based

Keyword: squash, Vegan

Servings:

Calories: 244kcal

Equipment

high speed blender
immersion blender

Ingredients

1 medium butternut squash
1 acorn squash
1 large onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 medium carrots
2 cloves garlic
1 piece ginger root, 2 inches
½ cup Raw Cashews soaked for 6 hours at room temperature or 2 hours in hot water
2 15 oz cans white cannellini beans
4-6 cups oil free vegetable stock
1 tsp cinnamon (to taste)
1 tsp chili powder (to taste)
½ tsp fresh ground nutmeg (to taste)
½ tsp ground turmeric
1-2 tsp salt (to taste)
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper (to taste)
½ cup Pumpkin seeds
3 sprigs fresh thyme (stems discarded)

Instructions

Cut both squash in half, remove seeds, and place upright in an oven safe dish. Roast at 375 for 35-45 minutes until fork tender. Set aside to cool. You can roast the squash a day or two ahead and leave in the refrigerator until ready to make the soup.
Add chopped onion to stock pot, and stir often. You do NOT need to add oil. Onions will release natural oils when left to do their thing! Trust the process.
As the onions begin to turn clear and the edges are browning, add the chopped carrot and celery to the stock pot. If needed for sticking, add splashes of water or stock at this point.
After the carrots and celery have had 10 minutes to cook and begin to get tender, add the fresh minced garlic and fresh grated ginger to the pot. I like to remove the ginger skin using the edge of an overturned spoon, lightly scraping to remove. Then I grate the ginger and add in to the dish. Stir frequently.
Add 4 cups of stock and bring to simmer. Scoop squash out of skins and break up with a spoon, then add to the stock pot. Add spices in amounts above, noting to add more to taste later. Simmer for 20 minutes, adding more stock if necessary to keep the squash and veggies just covered.
If you have a Vitamix or high speed blender, drain cashews, add to blender with reserved stock. Blend on slow for a few min to begin to break down the cashews, then add speed and small amounts of stock or water to create a cream. Add the soup ingredients from the stock pot (careful with the heat) to the Vitamix one ladle at a time and blend until smooth. Add back to the stock pot, simmer and add salt and pepper to taste.
If you have an immersion blender, add the drained cashew directly to the stock pot and blend with an immersion blender inside the stock pot, careful with the heat. Continue to blend until smooth and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste and simmer. I like to blend the cashew cream in the vitamix, then add that to the stock pot and use my immersion blender for the remainder of the blending in the stock pot.
Drain cannellini beans and add to fully blended soup. Simmer another 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add splashes of stock as needed for consistency. Add more spices to taste.
Serve garnished with pumpkin seeds and fresh thyme leaves.

Notes

If allergic to cashews or trying to keep the soup fat free, omit the cashews. Reserve 1/2 cup white cannellini beans beans or 1 /2 baked white potato and blend in high speed blender with veggie stock until smooth and creamy, then add to the soup instead of the cashew cream.

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