Butternut Squash Soup

I am just using up the last of the winter squash harvested from the garden last fall. It keeps really well in a cool dark location (like a basement or garage). This soup may be one of my all time favorites with butternut squash. It has simple ingredients that end up tasting rich and complex. This recipe is lightly adapted from this one on Simply Recipes, and their addition of an apple is key! I swapped out vegetable stock for chicken, and added coconut milk. The result is a warming winter soup that is delicious and easy to make.

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil
1/2 onion, diced small

2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 rib of celery, diced
1 apple, cored and diced

1 butternut squash, peeled seeded and cubed
6 cups water
1 tbsp vegetable bouillon

pinch of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
5.5 oz can of coconut milk

Optional: pumpkin seeds for sprinkling on top.

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion to the pot and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Next add the carrots, celery, and diced apple to the pot and cook to let them heat through for another 5 minutes or so. Then you want to add the diced squash, water and vegetable bouillon. Bring the soup to a boil, and then lower the heat to let it simmer for around 30 minutes. You want to cook it until the vegetables and apple are soft and cooked through. Once they are ready, blend the soup with an immersion blender or by processing the soup in small batches in a blender. Once the soup is blended, return it to low heat and add a pinch of cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste. Finally stir in a small can of coconut milk and serve.