Leftover from my early-pregnancy period of morning sickness is a bit of a distaste for vegetables at the moment. I’m trying my best to eat healthy, but sneaking in veggies has been a challenge. So I’ve been trying hard to find any flavors of vegetable that sounds moderately appealing to me, and go full-force packing those into my diet. Butternut Squash has such a sweetness to it, that I can almost trick myself into thinking it’s less veggie and more like a treat! This weekend I experimented with a homemade hearty butternut squash soup packed with tons of vegetables and autumnal flavors. I hid a few carrots in there, and an apple and shallots for even more flavor. Some salty roasted pepitas and crusty bread make it a perfect chilly fall day meal! Full recipe below:
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Creamy Autumn Squash Soup.
Serves: 3-4 servings
 
Ingredients
  • 1 medium peeled butternut squash, cubed into large pieces
  • 3 medium carrots
  • 1 apple, peeled and quartered (remove core)
  • 1 shallot, peeled and quartered
  • ½ yellow onion, peeled and quartered
  • 3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • ½ tsp. cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. of cumin
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 2 ¼ cups of chicken or vegetable broth
  • ½ cup of heavy cream
  • Pepitas for garnishing and bread for serving
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Combine on a rimmed baking sheet the squash, carrots, apple, shallot, onion and thyme.
  3. Drizzle the vegetable combination with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, cinnamon and cumin.
  4. Bake for 55-60 minutes until butternut squash and carrots are softened.
  5. Remove thyme sprigs and set aside to cool slightly before transferring to a blender or food processor.
  6. Pulse the vegetable mixture to break down the larger pieces and then blend together until smooth. Once the mixture is fully combined, stream in ½ to 1 cup of the broth in while continuing to blend.
  7. Transfer the butternut squash soup base to a stockpot and simmer to reheat, while whisking in the remaining broth and heavy cream until combined.
  8. Serve hot, sprinkled with pepitas, fresh cracked pepper, and a side of crusty bread.