Squash and Carrot Winter Soup

Soup is a popular meal in my home that I often make on Sunday for the first few days of a busy work week. I tend to batch cook on the weekend and create dishes that take more time than a thirty minute meal. Stocks, soups, stews, and lasagna are all great examples of delicious winter meals that can be made in advance and portioned for the week. Soup is also a great way to use the remainder of my produce before shopping for new groceries. I hate to waste so making stocks and soups can assist me in creating a variety of flavours and keep the weekly soup ever changing without having food waste.

One of my favorite winter meals is my Squash and Carrot Soup.  It is so soothing on a cold winter day.  It feels like it is coating my bones with every bite keeping me warm from the inside out. It is fragrant, full of flavour and has a silky mouth feel with a lingering exotic finish. I can eat this soup over and over and never get tired of this easy and satisfying meal. If you are looking for a great soup to add to your weekly meal rotation, give this one a try.

Ingredients

1 medium size squash- Butternut Squash is my most favorite but you can use a different variety if that is what you have on hand. After you peel and seed the squash slice into cubes.
2 large carrots- peeled and sliced into same size cubes as the squash.
1 large onion- diced
1 clove of minced garlic
1 tbsp. Garam Masala
1 tbsp. Tumeric
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper or indian chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground coriander or thyme
1 tsp. white pepper
 2 tbsp. coconut oil
Sea salt as desired
4-6 cups of chicken stock- I use homemade but low sodium store bought is also a good option.
I like my soup to be on the thick side but if you wish to have a looser soup use 6 cups of stock instead.
1 small can of coconut milk
Garnish with fresh thyme or cilantro

Note:
In my experience people either LOVE or HATE cilantro/corriander. If you have a guest or family member that does not like the taste of fresh or dried cilantro/corriander replace that flavor with fresh or dried thyme.

Procedure

1. Heat the coconut oil in a large stock pot and add the onion and garlic cooking on medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add all the dried spices to the onion and garlic mixture and cook them for 5-6 minutes to intenisfy the flavour. Turn down the heat if needed to ensure the spices do not burn. This step is critical. It is important to slowly intensify and toast the spices adding a great layer of flavour. If you burn them the soup will taste bitter.
3. Add the squash and carrot to the pot and stir to incorporate the onion mixture.
4. Add the stock to the pot and place the lid on to help steam the carrots and squash. Cook until the carrots and squash are soft and able to mash with a fork when tested.
5. Once cooked, using a hand blender puree the soup until it is smooth.  If you do not have a hand blender transfer he soup to a food processor or blender and pour back into the pot once pureed.
6. Add the coconut milk and stir in until well incorporated.
7. Garnish and enjoy!


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