Creamy Butternut Squash/Nut Butter Soup

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Recipe submitted by An_organic_inference, 06/11/09

Creamy Butternut Squash/Nut Butter Soup

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

3 cups of water
2 small or 1 large butternut squash
3 medium carrots
3 celery stalks
2 large sweet onion
4 cloves garlic
4 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup cashew butter
2 teaspoons sage
4 teaspoons marjoram
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon white pepper
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
2 apples (of any variety)
2 yellow bell peppers
several stalks of fresh chive

Directions:

The squash takes the longest so that should be prepared first. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the squash from top to bottom splitting it in two. Use a spoon to scrape the seeded center from each half clean. Take out a baking pan with lipped edge to hold water. Place the squash face down so the cut side faces the pan. Put a small amount of water in the pan, about 1/8 of an inch deep (this will steam the squash and create good juices to use in the soup). Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the squash is soft enough to easily spoon out of the peel. (you can cook the sweet potato with the squash, however they are smaller and will be done sooner so i prefer to cook them in the next step.)

While the squash is cooking, slice one of the two large onions, carrots, sweet potato (with peel), and celery into pieces about 1 inch. Peel the cloves of garlic. Place all chopped vegetables, garlic cloves, and bay leaves into 3 cups of water and bring to a boil (the water should be just enough to cover the top of the vegetables in pot). Boil for about 20 minutes until the vegetables become soft. Once softened, remove the bay leaves and set aside until the squash is finished (do not drain water).

When the squash is complete, spoon out the insides into a processor or blender then add the boiled vegetables (you should also add the extra water from the squash pan). Process until smooth, at least 1 minute. Return processed vegetables to large cooking pot and place on range set to medium heat. Add the coconut milk and cashew butter, along with the sage, marjoram, salt, and white pepper. Stir occasionally until soup begins to steam and cashew butter diffuses. If soup is too thick, add more vegetable broth to taste.

As the soup simmers, prepare a small frying pan on medium-high heat for the remaining onion, yellow pepper and apple (I only slice enough of each for the amount I plan on eating, frying the vegetables fresh for each leftover meal). Cut the three ingredients into small pieces about evenly sized. Add a small amount of virgin olive oil to the frying pan and wait several seconds for it to heat (you do not want to add too much oil, the point is to brown not deep fry). Place the sliced apples, peppers, and onion into hot pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3-4 minutes or until the items have slightly browned on the edges. Top the creamed soup with the browned garnish and sprinkle with a little sliced chive. Serve Warm. Each bite of browned garnish is a little tasty surprise. This soup is very good.

Source of recipe: Something I created after making butternut squash soup for a while. Because I don't use milk or soymilk, I use coconut milk and cashews to recreate a creamy flavor.

Makes: 8-10 servings, Preparation time: 25 minutes, Cooking time: 1 1/2 hours