This easy-to-make soup delights all senses: the natural, mild sweetness of the winter squash combines well with the creamy coconut milk, and subtle flavors of lemon and ginger, creating an orchestra of flavors, highlighted by its velvety, smooth texture, the inviting color, created from blending the brilliant orange flesh of the squash, and the aromatic tone of ginger and freshly ground black pepper.
Winter squash – which includes pumpkin, butternut squash, acorn squash, Kabocha and many other varieties – is one of the richest sources of plant based anti-inflammatory nutrients on the planet.
Part of why I love winter squash is that it offers a rare opportunity for you to have your starch and eat it! The starch comes from—
‘specially structured polysaccharides that in winter squash often include special chains of D-galacturonic acid called homogalacturonan. An increasing number of animal studies now show that these starch-related components in winter squash have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, as well as anti-diabetic and insulin-regulating properties.’ (whfoods.org).
Now that we know that winter squash is not just a starchy vegetable let’s get started on that recipe!
What you need:
- 3 cups pumpkin or butternut squash* (you can save time by buying chopped squash).
- 2 cups vegetable stock (use your own home-made version or Pacific Organic Vegetable Broth Low Sodium).
- 1 cup coconut milk (Natural Value offers a good BPA-free alternative).
- Juice from 1 lemon.
- 1-2 tablespoons ginger, minced .
- 1-2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
How to make it:
- Roast squash: pre-heat oven to 350°F, place squash in baking dish, add olive oil and roast until soft (15-20 minutes).
- In a blender, combine roasted squash, vegetable stock and coconut milk, and process on high until smooth (make sure the heat from the squash doesn’t blow off the blender lid!)
- Blend in lemon juice and ginger. Place mixture in a pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 2 -3 minutes.
- Add freshly ground black pepper and serve.
*It’s that time of year where pumpkins are brought to the spotlight, but you can probably use any type of winter squash for this recipe – I know that butternut squash works great too.
This is my new favorite fall soup recipe – nutritious, easy and tasty – all three blocks checked. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did!
This recipe is taken from IMUA’s three day pre-holiday cleanse – a real, whole-foods cleanse which I designed for you – so that you can feel and look your best during this holiday season. If that sounds good to you; stay tuned for my next blog post!
Please take note that none of the information provided herein is ever intended to take the place of medical advice and these tips are purely of informative and educational value. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day!
