squash & sweet potato soup

March 4, 2012

We love soup over here in this house. In all honesty, we could eat it and enjoy any night of the week…and any season for that matter. Homemade soups are probably one of the easiest and yummiest meals to make. What it boils down to (pun intended) is basically choosing your veggies of choice…washing, peeling and chopping them up, and then throwing them in a pot. Next, add in some liquid goodness, a couple herbs/spices…puree and voila. Easy peasy, lemon squeezey. This simplification isn’t far off. Super quick to make, yet filled with comfort. With a few simple ingredients, you can create a warm and soothing dish that your family will love any day of the year.

Recipe Type: Appetizer, Side

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Yield: 4 +

Ingredients

1 butternut squash – skin removed and cubed
2-3 large sweet potatoes/yams – cubed
2 small- medium onions - finely chopped
5 cloves garlic – minced
1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 can coconut milk
4 cups or 1 tetra container of vegetable stock (homemade or store-bought)
coconut oil
a pinch or two of ground nutmeg and cinnamon
ground pepper and sea salt
a few dashes of hot sauce (optional)
fresh chives - chopped for garnish
bacon – chopped for garnish

Instructions

begin by taking your cubed butternut squash and sweet potato and roast in the oven at 350 degrees until slightly browned (toss in coconut/olive oil and fresh rosemary, in a large bowl and then spread out cubes on a baking sheet)
in the meantime, sauté the onion and garlic in coconut oil on low-medium heat on the stove-top, in a LE CRE-- USET/dutch oven, until softened and translucent
when done roasting, take your butternut squash and sweet potato and add them into the dutch oven/pot
next, pour in your vegetable broth and bring to a boil
reduce heat and season with a few teaspoons of ground nutmeg and/or cinnamon (sorry, I didn’t measure the amounts here, but I wasn’t shy)
then, take an immersion blender and puree the soup until smooth
at the same time, add in the coconut milk slowly, and continue blending until desired consistency is reached (if too thick...add in some broth or water)
allow time to simmer on low/medium heat for flavours to meld together - stirring occasionally
serve it up in a bowl and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and ground pepper
finish with a few dashes of hot sauce if you want a little bite!
finally, garnish with some freshly chopped chives and crumbled bacon (sweet vs. salty flavouring = wickedness)
enjoy!

Notes

• I am using onion, garlic, chopped up squash and sweet potatoes…but you can basically choose any veggies you like…add in some broth and coconut milk (if you want it creamy) and grab a handy immersion blender to mix it up and you are laughing. You can also play around with different spices and fresh herbs if you like as well. If you aren't into 'creamy' type soups - skip the coconut milk step and ditch the pureeing business. • Also, you can modify the consistency of your soup by adding in a little bit more broth or water, if you find it's too thick. Have fun with this one…choose some veggies that are in-season and you are off to the races. Any type of squash is always a good bet as well!!! Oh ya…when re-heating the leftovers (this makes a ton), I also added in some more liquid to even things out.

Time-saver: • If you want to save time, you can do without the roasting of the veggies...and pretty much chop them up and cook them in the dutch oven on the stove-top as you go. The choice is yours, although I find roasting them add more flavour to the dish. YUM!

Cindy

Living life and eating paleo styles. Thrive on helping people become more healthy and in tune with their body. Enjoy creating recipes that are made with LOVE.

1 Comment

squash & sweet potato soup | Paleo Digest March 4, 2012 at 10:06 pm

[…] sites on the web!squash & sweet potato soup PALEOdISH — PALEOdISH / Posted on: March 04, 2012PALEOdISH — PALEOdISH – We love soup over here in this house. In all honesty, we could eat it and enjoy any night […]