Butternut Squash Soup

After a long weekend of work and play, my body was telling me to slow down and fill yourself up with good home made comfort food. 

I decide to plan out my menu for the week, as far as dinners go, and then I always like to have a few lunch options that are prepared and ready to go in minutes.  Usually salad fixings or a soup.  Whether I'm packing them to go, or heating them up at home...I need meals to be ready fast. 

This week, I used my new cookbook from William Sonoma, 'Eat Well' that my brother and sister-n-law got me for my birthday. 

This book is beautiful, and has so many wonderful recipes with amazing photography. 

Since I was feeling a bit run down, I decided on the beta-carotene boost of butternut squash soup, it was simple and easy to prepare and luckily I had most of the ingredients. 

I was short on time yesterday, so I picked up the already prepared cubed butternut squash.  Major time saver! 

Curried Butternut Squash Soup with coconut & lime


Very fragrant, sweet and spicy, the soup will warm you up, and make you feel great.  It's very simple, so feel free to experiment and add other nutritious add ons...next time I'm thinking kale and cannellini beans. 


yields: 6 servings
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 30 minutes


Ingredients:


1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 shallots, sliced and diced
1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, grated or minced
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
9 cups of butternut squash cubes (I used two pkgs of pre-cut)
3 cups of vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
1 teaspoon thai red curry paste
3/4 cup of light coconut milk
2 teaspoons of lime juice
salt & pepper to taste


1.  Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat.  Add shallots and cook until softened, 2-3 minutes.  Add garlic and ginger, and cook until fragrant, about one minute. 


2.  Add squash, salt, broth and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to remain a simmer, cover and cook for about 20 minutes, or until squash is fork tender. 


3.  Put curry paste in a small bowl with the coconut milk, and whisk together until smooth and combined. 

4.  Add curry paste mixture to soup and stir to combine. 
5.  Pulse soup with immersion blender until creamy and smooth.  If you don't have an immersion blender, just transfer small batches of soup into a regular blender, and blend until smooth. 

6.  Add salt, pepper and squeeze of lime juice and enjoy a warm and delicious soup! 

Hope you all will try this soup soon.  This is Hoboken's restaurant week, so I'm looking forward to trying out some new places and supporting my community. 

What's cookin' at your house? Crack open your cookbooks and find something that inspires you!  Have a wonderful week!