Curried Butternut Squash Soup

I've been soup crazy this winter. Every week it seems I'm whipping up a big pot of something warming, delicious, healing and nutritious. The best part of making a stockpot full of soup is that you have dinner one night, and a lunch you can look forward to all week. This week I made a Curried Butternut Squash Soup with apples and ginger. It's a little spicy, a little sweet, super creamy and SO satisfying. The soup is also low fat, vegan, and packed with nutrition.

A little squash information: squash comes in two different categories:winter and summer. Butternut squash is of the winter variety and is in season November-March. It has a hard shell that protects the orange meat inside, so you have to peel it and remove the inner seeds and membrane before cooking. Butternut squash is high in vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), a very good source of vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber, and a good source of folate, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B1, copper, vitamin B6, niacin-vitamin B3 and pantothenic acid. Butternut squash is a Vitamin A giant, weighing in at 22,868 IUs per cup. This form of Vitamin A has very powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The anti-oxidants help prevent cholesterol buildup, lower risk for heart disease and diabetes, and reduce the risk of colon and lung cancers. The anti-inflammatory effects may help to reduce the severity of conditions like asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis, which all involve inflammation. Plenty of reasons to enjoy a bowl (or two, or three!) of this tasty soup.

The recipe:

Ingredients:

4-5 cups cubed butternut squash (about 2)

1 onion, chopped

1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 T. curry powder (or more if you like it spicy)

1 t. ground ginger

1 can light coconut milk

4 cups vegetable stock

EVOO

S&P to taste

1. Heat a large stockpot or dutch oven over med-high heat. Coat the bottom with EVOO. Add onion, apple and squash and saute, about 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently. When the vegetables have started to brown and caramelize, add the curry powder, ginger and garlic, and saute another 2 minutes. Don't let the garlic burn!

2. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat,

simmer 30 minutes or until squash is tender and can be mashed with a fork.

3. Add the coconut milk and warm through.

4. Blend the soup using a hand-held immersion blender, or in batches in regular blender. Blend to your desired consistency, smooth or chunky. Return to heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro and naan bread.

The soup gets even better the next few days as the flavors continue to blend. I like to add some brown rice to it at lunch, to get some whole grain fiber action, and serve with a big green salad.

I hope you enjoy this soup as much as I did. I think I'm going to warm up a bowl right now...

From my California kitchen to yours... see you next time with more adventures in food. enjoy your day! namaste~nicole