DANTAisms

Butternut Squash Soup

Recently, I had my wisdom teeth extracted. Although I was lucky that it was a simple extraction with no complications (and I somehow avoided the notorious “chipmunk cheeks” look), it still meant that my diet had to involved minimal chewing for a few days, so I decided to make an old favorite of mine- butternut squash soup.

This recipe can be modified to fit your schedule- I made it in a crockpot on “high” so it took 2-3 hours, but you could easily use a regular stove to speed it up, or use the crockpot on “low” and let it cook all day! Chopping and prepping the vegetables takes maybe half an hour before you can actually leave it alone.

Like all of my recipes, this one was made up on-the-fly by combining ideas from at least 3 recipes I found online, so it’s very substitution-friendly based on your own personal tastes. You could even use pumpkin or another type of squash if you want to be really crazy! The one ingredient I’d recommend NOT leaving out is the apple- it gave it a nice mild tartness that complements the smooth, easy flavor of the vegetables. Just as I am writing this, I have the sudden urge to add cardamom, so if anyone wants to try that and let me know how it works out, leave a comment!

Ingredients:

1 Butternut Squash (peeled and chopped)

1 Red Bell Pepper (chopped)

1 Granny Smith Apple (peeled and chopped)

2 Small Carrots (peeled and chopped)

3 Cloves Garlic (Minced)

Olive Oil (enough to cover the bottom of your pan/crock pot

½ Stick Butter (optional… but it’s delicious!)

32oz Vegetable Stock

Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Allspice, Paprika, Salt, and Black Pepper (to taste)

 

Instructions:

Sauté the garlic and spices in olive oil until the garlic begins to brown on the edges. Then, add all of the chopped vegetables and sauté them for a few minutes, until they are all coated with oil and spices. Add the butter and vegetable stock, and cook in the slow-cooker on “high” for about 2 hours or until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Using an immersion blender or food processor, blend until your desired texture is reached.

And that’s it! My family and I cooked up some lentil pasta to throw in at the end, and the nutty flavor of the lentils complemented the earthy flavors of the soup very nicely. But I’m sure it would also taste great with some fresh, hot biscuits!