There’s something to be said for a bowl of warm, creamy soup when the weather is dreary and your feet are cold. This soup is the edible equivalent of pulling on thick socks, wrapping yourself up in a blanket and sitting by a crackling fireplace. The texture of this soup is unbelievably smooth and rich, and it all has to do with the way the squash is cooked. Made with a simple, endlessly customizeable broth, it comes together quickly and is a great way to showcase fall flavours. The addition of cumin and coriander give it a spicy, toasty, exotic edge.
Quick facts: Butternut squash is an excellent source of vitamin A, vital for healthy eyesight, as well as vitamin E, an important antioxidant. Cumin and coriander both add a great depth of flavour, and have antioxidant properties as well!
Directions
- Place dill weed roots, cilantro roots, celery and green onion in a medium sized pot and cover with about 8 cups of cold water. Add a pinch of salt. Place onto medium high heat and bring to a boil. Once it has boiled, turn the heat down and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- While the vegetable broth is cooking, heat up the coconut oil in a large saucepan**. Add chopped onions, cumin, coriander, and a pinch of salt. Cook onions, stirring occasionally, until they are transluscent and softened. Add the cubed butternut squash and a ladle-ful of the vegetable broth (it doesn’t matter if it is still cooking) and cover with a tight fitting lid. Cook the squash, stirring occasionally, until it is fully cooked and easily breaks apart when pressed with a wooden spoon.
- Once the vegetable broth has finished cooking, remove the vegetables from the liquid with tongs and discard.
- Pour about half the broth into a bowl, leaving the other half of the broth in the pot (leftover broth can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge – great for cooking quinoa, or making more soup!)
- Transfer cooked onions and butternut squash into the broth pot.
- Blend the mixture with an immersion blender for about 1 minute, or until very smooth – if the soup is too thick, add in more vegetable broth in small amounts.
- Stop and taste the soup – it will probably require more salt; re- season as neccessary, and blend for a few more seconds.
- This soup is sophreakin’ good paired with toasted pumpkin seeds, a squeeze of lemon juice and a dollop of tahini (sesame paste)
** Ensure pan has a lid
This recipe is based on a recipe shared with me by my incredible sister-in-law. Welcome everyone to Sophreakin’ Good!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp coconut oil (or butter, ghee, etc)
- 1 large sweet onion, chopped
- 1 medium butternut squash, seeds removed, peeled and cubed
- 1 small bunch dill weed roots* (simply tear the bottom ‘twiggy’ portions off the bunch)
- 1 small bunch cilantro or parsley roots* (as above)
- 1 large celery stalk (alternately, use the inner portion of the celery bunch with the leaves, or 1 tbsp of celery seeds)
- 1 green onion (optional)
- 1 tbsp ground cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp ground coriander seeds
- several pinches of good quality salt (such as Himalayan pink salt or Herbamare®)
- optional toppings: toasted pumpkin seeds, lemon, tahini (sesame paste)
* Feel free to use the dill/parsley/cilantro leaves themselves – however, you get the same flavour from just the roots and can save the leaves for other things, such as salads!
