Are you worried about having to just toss your decorations of pumpkins and squash once Thanksgiving passes? Turn that decor into dinner by serving this ButternutSweetPumpkin Soup. Pleasing on the eye, taste buds, and you don't have to wash out your bowl after (Shhh, don't tell your family it's healthy, too!).
Don't get discouraged, the recipe looks long and complicated, but if you take it step by step I promise it's easier than it looks!
Recipe adapted from: Half Baked Harvest
What You Need---
For the soup:
- (2) small pumpkins
- (1) butternut squash
- (1) sweet potato
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- (2) small shallots chopped
- 1 teaspoon thyme (Fresh is preferred, but I use dried!)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup coconut milk (Or, 1 cup water if you prefer!)
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more or less to your liking
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
- pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
Toppings:
||1 jar basil pesto (You can also make this homemade if you wish!)
||Pumpkin seeds:
- Reserve seeds from 2 small pumpkins, rinse, and dry on kitchen towel
- Toss with 1 tablespoon coconut milk, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and salt to your tasting.
What you do--
1. Preheat oven to 400F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cut top of pumpkins, scoop out seeds (& separate from the "gunk"), rinse, and set aside.
3. Wash and peel butternut squash, cut in half, scoop out and discard the seeds & "gunk". Cut in cubes. Set on prepared baking sheet.
4. Wash and peel the sweet potato, cut in cubes. With butternut squash, drizzle olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, spread garlic. Bake at 400F for 45 min.
5. While veggies are baking, take the reserved pumpkin seeds and mix in a bowl with milk, flour, and spices.
6. Heat a skillet with olive oil. When oil is hot, add the pumpkin seeds. Stir until browned. Remove and let cool on paper towel. |Taste testing is a must here ;) |
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7. After veggies are done (should be tender, a fork should easily be able to cut), add to food processor with 1 C chicken broth. Blend until smooth. (If you do not have a food processor, you can mash with fork!)
8. Heat a large pot over medium heat and add the butter and shallots. Saute the the shallots until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme and cook another 30 seconds. Add the vegetable puree, remaining 3 C of chicken broth, coconut milk, water, cayenne, nutmeg, maple syrup and crushed red pepper. Bring the soup to a low simmer and simmer 15-20 minutes.
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9. Pop those scooped out baby pumpkins into the 400F oven to soften and brown while soup cooks.
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10. To serve, ladle soup into cooked pumpkins. Top with 2 tablespoons pesto, and pumpkin seeds. I added some shredded cheese to mine as well, because well, cheese makes everything better. :)
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I hope you enjoy this as much as I did! Serve with a side salad and some skillet cornbread to complete the meal. {This soup is a healthy dose of vitamin A with all those delicious orange veggies.}
Here's to November and soaking up the end of fall before winter moves in.
Happy Eatin'!
"Um, were you gonna wash these 'bowls' to use again?" -Z