Butternut soup is nourishing, cozy, dense and lightly sweet. It’s great on its own or it can be used as a base for more flavours. Here I used curry powder to add a big dose of exotic flavour (plus many of the spices are warming and help with digestion) and some coconut oil and coconut yogurt for a tropical touch. Pretty much any kind of Indian, Middle Eastern or Northern African spice mix will work nicely with butternut squash but my favourite is a homemade curry powder from a dear family friend (thanks Marie) and I included it below. It has nine spices and aromatics that come together for a bit of heat, a bit of smokiness and a lot of fragrance and warmth, including ginger, cinnamon and cloves- the best pairings for any kind of winter squash (also prime ingredients in pumpkin pie spice and ginger bread cookies).
Creating a design on top of creamy soup with yogurt or cream is a fast and easy way to fancy it up. The soup has to be very thick though for the garnish to not bleed down into the soup. Regular dairy cream or yogurt can be used or for a dairy-free option use coconut cream (put the can in the fridge overnight then flip and open the end that was on the bottom and just scrape out the thick cream that separates and settles on the bottom) or yogurt. If using liquid cream, either regular or coconut, it will sit better on the top if you whip it slightly first to stiffen it a little. Once the cream or yogurt is ready, spoon it into a piping bag or a plastic bag with the corner snipped off. From there you can make stripes or circles or swirls and then use a toothpick to run through the design to make it blend better or accentuate the original shape. Here I used a plastic bag with the tip cut off then piped some unsweetened coconut yogurt in a large swirl and used a toothpick to run through it twice.
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 large butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and diced
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 apple, cored and chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 bay leaf
- Optional toppings: unsweetened coconut yogurt or cream, a sprig of fresh cilantro and/or lime wedges for a fresh squeeze of juice
- Heat the coconut oil in a large pot on the stove over medium high heat. Add in the onion, celery, carrot, garlic and curry spices and sautée until the onion starts to become translucent and the vegetables soften, around 5 minutes. This step is important for boosting the soup's flavour; if the mixture becomes too dry and sticks to the pot add in a splash of broth as needed.
- Add in the broth, butternut squash, apple and bay leaf. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a raging boil turn the heat down to medium low and leave to simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf and use an inversion blender or regular blender to blend until smooth. If using a regular blender it's best to let the soup cool a bit before blending and just fill the blender up about halfway, working in sections, and be careful of the steam that will burst out when you remove the lid.
- 4 teaspoons garlic powder
- 4 teaspoons turmeric
- 4 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons coriander
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons cloves
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons ginger
- ¾ teaspoon ground dried red or green peppers
- Ground and sift any spices that are not already in powder form individually. Combine them all in the blender and mix until thoroughly combined.
- This recipe can easily be tripled or quadrupled and then stored in the fridge to keep it extra fresh.
