I’ve been making this the past 2 years and absolutely love it. It uses lots of great fall produce- squash, carrots, apple, onions, and herbs. It all goes right from the garden to our dinner table! Make it as a hearty appetizer or as the main course with a nice chunk of sourdough bread. If you’re worried about the cayenne pepper you can leave it out and add a pinch to individual bowls as a garnish. Also, if you don’t have the coconut milk, don’t worry. I forgot to put it in once and it still tasted great!
Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced
- 1 medium (uncooked) butternut squash*, peeled, seeded and diced
- 1 sprig fresh sage
- 1 white onion, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper, or more to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or more to taste
- pinch of ground cinnamon and nutmeg
- 1/2 cup canned (unsweetened) coconut milk
- optional garnishes: extra coconut milk and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper (or smoked paprika)
DIRECTIONS:
- Add vegetable stock, garlic, carrot, apple, butternut squash, sage, onion, salt, pepper, cayenne, cinnamon and nutmeg to your slow cooker. Toss to combine.
- Cook for 6-8 hours on low, or 3-4 hours on high, or until the squash is completely tender and mashes easily with a fork. Remove and discard the sage. Stir in the coconut milk.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. (Or you can transfer the soup in two batches into a traditional blender, and puree until smooth, being very careful when working with the hot liquid.) Taste, and season with additional salt, pepper and cayenne if needed.
- Serve warm, with optional garnishes if desired.
Enjoy!