Butternut Squash Soup with Golden Beet Chips

Butternut Squash Soup is synonymous with Fall cooking. It also happens to be something I recommend to people who like to complain that eating healthy is boring. There’s absolutely nothing lack-lustre about this soup. It’s vibrant, delicious and, if you put a bit of love into the presentation, will impress even the most pretentious of foodies. Butternut squash may take a bit more muscle to prep than other squash varieties but it’s worth the effort. You get a big yield for something that is relatively inexpensive. Looking for an easier way out? Try frozen squash, available at most grocery stores. The good news is that once you get done peeling and chopping the squash, it’s amazingly easy to cook with. The classic preparation for butternut squash is soup. It also happens to make an excellent puree that can be used to stuff pasta. Since things like ravioli are generally off the paleo table, I’m sticking to soup on this one. But I do like to kick things up a notch every now and then (Emeril reference) so this Creamy Butternut Squash Soup gets an extra kick of fancy with the addition of home-made Golden Beet Chips.

I developed this recipe way back when for my friends at ELXR Juice Lab. They create the most delicious, healthy, cold-pressed juices I have ever tasted. They can be found throughout the Toronto area. Click here to find a location nearest you. And in case you’re wondering, After Party is my favourite flavour 😉

I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to add this recipe to CPG (<— I’m adopting a blog monogram!). Work got piled on and it kept getting pushed back. Tonight, as luck would have it, I found myself scrolling through archival images and came across these gorgeous beet chips. So I figured, ‘what the heck? Might as well get ‘er up on the blog!’

I’ll leave you with the eloquent words of my friends at ELXR, “The warming spices in this soup and immune-boosting squash make this the prefect mid-spring warm-up [equally well-suited to Fall]. The beet chips are entirely optional, but add a textural contrast and a touch of saltiness that elevates this soup from the everyday to the ethereal. And selfishly, the chef has to make sure everything is up to snuff, so enjoy some beet chips while you’re whisking your soup! (Pro tip: Double the beet chip recipe.)”

I hope you like this recipe and be sure to let me know what you think in the comments below!

Cheers,

Ronny

INGREDIENTS: (serves 3-4)

For the Squash Soup:

– 2.5 cups butternut squash – cubed (frozen works great in this recipe)

– 1 L vegetable stock

– 1 shallot – diced

– 2 garlic cloves – minced

– 1 celery stalk – diced

– 1 cup coconut milk – plus extra for garnish

– ½ teaspoon turmeric powder

– ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder

– ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

– fresh chives – finely chopped for garnish

– 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil – plus extra for garnish

– salt and pepper to taste

For the Beet Chips:

– 2 golden beets – thinly sliced using this mandolin

– coarse sea salt (such as Maldon)

– 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

 METHOD:

For the Beet Chips:

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350F.
   2. Peel beets and slice very thinly using mandonline.
   3. Lay individually sliced beets onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season with coarse sea salt.
   4. Bake 10-15 minutes. Flip and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until edges are crispy and golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool. For the Butternut Squash Soup:

For the Creamy Squash Soup:

1. 1. Heat a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, shallots, garlic and celery. Sauté for 10-12 minutes or until onions and celery have softened.
   2. Add turmeric, cinnamon and cayenne. Sauté for an additional 60 seconds, stirring constantly.
   3. Add vegetable stock and butternut squash. Bring to a boil, reduce to a steady simmer and cook until squash is fork tender (approx. 12-15 minutes).
   4. Add 1 cup coconut milk. Using an immersion blender or traditional blender, blitz the soup until smooth and creamy. Return to the pot and simmer an additional 2-3 minutes for flavours to meld.
   5. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil and coconut milk and garnish with freshly chopped chives and crispy golden beet chips.