Gingered Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup...A recipe fix up

A few days ago I posted about how I am trying to reorganize and simplify my life; that means fixing up my blog too. Now that I’ve gotten the hang of this whole blogging thing, I’ve gone through and cleaned up some of my previous posts, added my recipes to my Foodbuzz profile, and reflected on what type of blog posts you all seem to enjoy most.

Soup garnished with greek yogurt, garam masala, and roasted squash seeds

In doing all of this, I came upon one blog post that I was unhappy with: my recipe for Butternut Squash Soup. This soup tasted too much like heath food and not enough like a delicious puree of the season’s bounty. I want my blog to be full of healthy, delicious recipes, not bunches of vegetables that you have to pinch your nose to swallow. I’ve been experimenting in my kitchen with different adaptations and reading various butternut squash soup recipes from around the blogosphere to try to come up with a soup that tasted smooth and luxurious, while still being absolutely guilt-free.

caramelizing aromatics...yum!

By leaving out the celery, increasing the number of carrots, decreasing the amount of liquid, decreasing the amount of spices, increasing the amount of garlic and ginger, and increasing the time for the vegetables to caramelize, I’ve drastically improved my butternut squash soup recipe. Please try out the new and improved version and let me know what you think!

Vegetables simmering

Gingered Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup

Softened veggies with broth and spices...Delicious!

Adapted from With Style and Grace and a Sofa in the Kitchen

Soup ready to blend!

Ingredients:

• 1 Tsp olive oil
• 1 Yellow onion
• 3 Cloves garlic
• 1/2 Leek
• 1 Tbs freshly grated ginger
• 1 Medium butternut squash
• 3-4 Carrots
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 Cups vegetable broth (depending on how thick you want your soup)
• 1 Sprig rosemary
• 1/4 Tsp ground cumin
• 1/8 Tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:

1.  Slice your onion, garlic, leeks, and set them aside.
2. Peel your carrots and your butternut squash, then cube the squash and slice the carrots, then set them both aside.
3. Heat the oil in a large stock pot over medium for about a minute then add in the onion, garlic, leek, and ginger. Stir the vegetables occasionally for about 5 minutes, or until they begin to turn translucent.
4. Next add in the carrot, butternut squash, salt, and pepper for about 10 minutes, or until they begin to soften. Feel free to add 1 Tbs water if the vegetables start to heat up too quickly.
5. Add the vegetable broth, rosemary, cumin, nutmeg, and cayenne. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot, leaving it alone for 30 minutes.
6. Use an immersion blender or transfer the mixture to a blender in batches, and blend until smooth, then enjoy!

Soup!

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