I have a confession to make — some times I really don’t like to cook. There! I’ve said it — for everyone to hear. Days when I’m feeling unusually tired or stressed suck the joy out of cooking for me. Such days have happened more frequently during this year than any other year. But what is interesting is that we have eaten lots of delicious and creative meals this year! How does that work??? Quite possibly one of the great mysteries of the universe.
This butternut soup ticks all the boxes:
- easy
- quick
- nutritious
- comforting
- creamy
- pretty
- delicious
It is a light soup that can easily be made vegan. The level of “heat” is simple to personalize. It makes a large enough batch so portions can be frozen for future non-cooking days. And the comfort created by this soup rivals homemade chicken noodle soup in its ability to soothe weary bodies and relieve stressed minds. Gazing at our little piece of paradise is almost as relaxing as this soup.
This all begins with roasting — roasting garlic, roasting veggies, and roasting bacon. It all happens in the same oven with staggered timing. This helps you to conserve how much time the oven is on, and allows prep time — not wasted time. Garlic takes about 60 minutes to roast, the veggies need only 40 minutes, and bacon is nicely crisp in about 30 minutes. Can you see how staggering start time makes sense? Or is it only in my head?
Butternut Curry Soup
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
Creamy and satisfying, this simple butternut squash soup is like a hug in a mug. But it is so delicious that you will want to find the biggest mug on the planet to fill with soup.
Ingredients
1 pound bacon
2 Tbsp oil
1 large red onions, cut into thick slices
1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 head garlic
1 red apple
3 Tbsp Thai red curry paste (half a 4 ounce jar)
3 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, crushed
4 cups bone broth (or vegetable broth)
1/4 cup heavy cream (or full fat coconut milk)
Fresh cilantro for garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425℉. Cut top off garlic heat and roast for 20 minutes.
While the garlic is roasting, prepare vegetables and apple. Peel and cut squash into large dice (for easy-to-follow directions, look at this recipe), cut onion into thick slices, and cut apple into wedges. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp oil, and put in oven with the garlic for 10 minutes.
Cut bacon into 1″ pieces and put on another pan. Add to the oven for 30 minutes. Everything should be done at the same time.
Slide the squash, onion, and apple into a stock pot. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of the “skin”, much like squeezing a toothpaste tube. Add to the veggies. Add broth, curry paste, coriander, thyme, salt, and pepper flakes. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium-low heat 10 minutes.
Working in small batches, carefully blend the soup until smooth.
To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle 1 Tbsp of cream into each bowl and lightly swirl the spoon through the soup. Top with bacon and cilantro, if desired.
Notes
For vegan version, swap out bone broth for vegetable stock and heavy cream for full fat coconut milk. Skip the bacon.
If you like lots of spice, add more curry paste to soup before blending it.
If your dutch oven does not have enamel coating, a stick blender works fine. However, soup will be smoother if you use a true blender. Just be careful!
If you want a soup that is lighter in color, use a yellow onion and peel the apple. However, this will change the flavor and nutritional value.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
