And now for something comforting…

Butternut Squash Soup, 2019

So life has been really intense lately. I mean INTENSE. And that happens. Ferris Bueller said it best: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

So I’m trying to calm down and look around. (And by the way did you get your flu shot? You know who you are so go get it NOW.) In the meantime, I have the cure-all of cure-alls for any winter sniffles. This has chicken broth, vitamin A, ginger, garlic, coconut milk, no processed sugar – really this will cure anything and everything from a cold to a vampire infestation.

Soup, after all, is warm, comforting, and delicious. And this soup is all that and a bag of chips.

Butternut Squash Soup

Spread 3-4 lbs. of cut up butternut squash on foil covered baking sheet.

(Cautionary preparation note: I always buy my butternut squash pre-cut at the grocery store. A whole butternut squash is hard and tough and will fight you all the way through the cutting, peeling, scooping of seeds, and chopping process. If you must use an entire butternut squash, bake it first and then scoop out the seeds, toss those, and then scoop out the flesh. You will probably need two squash to get the 4-5 cups required. But really…trying to cut it up yourself, you could lose a finger or pierce an artery. It’s just not worth it.)

Spray the sheet beforehand with olive oil. Or sprinkle with olive oil just enough to keep the squash from sticking. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Roast at 400-425 degrees, 40-50 minutes. Less time will be needed if the pieces are an inch or less in size. Keep an eye on the roasting and stir once in awhile. The sugars in the squash will caramelize, but don’t let the ends get too dark.  

Chop the following in a small food processor, very fine:

1-2 inches fresh ginger, peeled (more if you really, really like ginger)
5-10 garlic cloves (never enough)

Heat in a large pot (4 qts) ¼ cup of one of the following:
Butter or olive oil or bacon grease (I prefer butter, but I would eat butter by the spoonful if allowed, so consider that.)

Sauté the ginger and garlic till soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Don’t burn, otherwise you’ll have to toss it and start over. Seriously – it’s not worth it to spoil this with burned garlic.

Whisk in ¼ cup almond butter until melted and smooth with the garlic-ginger sauté.

Dump in:
4-5 cups cooked butternut squash
1 can coconut milk
1-2 cans chicken broth

The amount of broth you pour in is flexible. If you barely have 4 cups of squash, then 1 can of broth may be enough. If you have a solid 5 cups of squash that you had to mash down to fit in your 4 cup measuring cup and don’t want your soup to be a pudding-like consistency, please add the second can.

Stir together but at this point you’re really ready for the immersion blender. Like this one. Be sure you position the cord so it doesn’t cross the burner on the stove. You might want to remove from the burner to a safer location, blend it until smooth, and then return to the heat.

Let me say this about my direction to blend until smooth. If it’s not smooth, put the immersion blender back in and blend until it’s completely smooth and there are no lumps. You’ve done all this work and now is not the time to not pay attention to mouth feel. I don’t care how hungry you are to eat this, blend until smooth. You’ll thank me later for stressing this.

When smooth, heat gently (Careful this soup can bubble up like a pool of lava and burn you when you least expect it. I have the scars.) and consider your seasoning. Here are some suggestions:

This recipe makes more than two quarts of soup. You can probably conveniently serve two bowls of soup as soon as it’s ready and then store the two quarts in the fridge. Keeps well for about a week. I’ve never frozen it, it just doesn’t last long enough. Pair this with a ham sandwich and a light beer or glass of white wine. Or if you’re really sick, a good cup of tea.

A note:  I’ve probably adapted this recipe from several sources, but I honestly don’t remember where I found the original. I’ve experimented with it over time. The original probably included cream but since I’m sharing meals with folks who aspire to a paleo diet I put in the coconut milk. Also, I’m Thai food deprived ALL the time so I tried the ginger and the coconut milk to give it a Thai flavor. I’m a fan of the Washington Post column, Voraciously, and I’ve clicked on every recipe site that’s ever popped up on Facebook, so if you recognize this recipe and think I’m not giving proper attribution, just know that I would give it attribution if I knew where it came from.