Ahhhh fall… tis’ the season for delicious, hearty soups. I got my hands on some butternut squash recently and to be perfectly honest, I have never cooked a squash before in my life and was feeling a bit overwhelmed. I got home last night, and I’m feeling a little under the weather. What I have is a loaf of bread that I purchased earlier that day, squash, and some things in my pantry. The bread is a delicious sourdough loaf from Marie et Guy French Bakery in Kingston, NS that I purchased at The Noodle guy and I would highly recommend it!

I start googling some recipes, and came across a delicious sounding curried soup that I modified slightly. When reading the original recipe, I thought I saw ginger instead of garlic. Upon discovering my mistake, I decided to add ginger anyways…because why not? Between the curry, ginger and squash, I was in for a tasty, healthy soup! Curry and ginger both have lots of antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, and squash is a great source vitamin C, E, iron, magnesium and it’s low calorie! The nutritional value of the soup listed below is based on the original recipe. Here is the original recipe if you’re not a fan of ginger, but if you like ginger flavour you can follow my modified version instead.

minimalistbaker.com/curried-butternut-squash-soup

Ginger and Curry Butternut Swuash Soup

Serves 4-5 people depending on bowl size.

Vegan and gluten free.

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, cubed
1 red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp yellow curry powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp fresh chopped ginger
1 tsp cumin
1 14oz can of organic coconut milk
2 cups of vegetable broth
2 tsp of maple syrup
salt and paper to taste

*for garnish I used organic green onions from my CSA box*

Instructions:

Place your soup pot over a medium heat and add oil, onions, garlic and ginger. Saute until onions are lightly browned.
Add squash, curry powder, cinnamon, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir to cook, lower the heat to low (just above simmer) and cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionaly.
Add coconut milk, vegetable broth and maple syrup and stir until well mixed (about a minute)
Bring to a boil, then simmer over a medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until squash is soft. You can poke with a fork and if the fork goes in easily then the squash is ready.
Use an immersion blender, or place the soup in a food processor/blender and puree until smooth. If you’re using a blender, return the soup to the pot.
Taste the soup and add spices and sweetners to your desired taste.
Serve into a bowl and top with green onions. (Optional, you can add a bit more full cream coconut milk for a thicker, creamier soup)
Store left overs in fridge for 3-4 days. You can freeze leftovers for 1 month in your freezer.

Serving size: 1/4 of recipe* Calories: 231 Fat: 9.3 g Saturated fat: 7.8 g Carbohydrates: 36.8 g Sugar: 10.9 gSodium: 455 mg Fiber: 4.2 g Protein: 6 g