AUTUMN HARVEST SOUP WITH ROASTED SQUASH SEEDS

I love to make soup in the fall, and squash based soups are my favourite. So, I decided to take all the delicious things I had in my kitchen that were in fresh and in season, and roast them with warming, autumnal spices. I picked up tons of squash and apples at a fresh food market in Creston, BC recently (where they grow their produce on a farm right behind the market), and I combined them with carrots, onions, and some rhubarb from my friend Heather’s garden (you can’t eat more local than that!). I also roasted the squash seeds and use them for a garnish! My Autumn Harvest Soup with Roasted Squash Seeds is the ultimate autumn comfort food — hearty, nourishing and velvety smooth. It’s an ultra clean recipe, if you’re looking for simple dinner ideas this week to help detox from Thanksgiving festivities!

AUTUMN HARVEST SOUP WITH ROASTED SQUASH SEEDS

This soup is full of good for you ingredients! Butternut squash is high in vitamin A, a powerful antioxidant responsible for maintaining good skin and vision. It’s also high in minerals like iron, zinc, copper, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus, while being low in calories. Honeycrisp apples are a great source of fiber and vitamin C, while carrots are loaded with beta carotene, and help combat against free radicals. Rhubarb is high in vitamins A, B, C and K, and provides twist on the traditional flavours of butternut squash soup. Garlic and ginger aid in detoxification, while spicing the soup naturally. Combined with onions, cumin, chili and cayenne powder, my Autumn Harvest Soup is a warming, rich in texture, and brimming with a delicious autumn flavour profile.

Have you every tried roasting squash seeds? They’re a little bit bigger than pumpkin seeds, but they’re just as tasty. They’re also packed full of fibre, protein, and vitamins A and C, folate, potassium, calcium and iron. If you’re eating this soup as a main dish, they help to make it a more complete meal. Just add a leafy salad for a beautiful, light fall dinner.

Ingredients

Yield: One huge pot! (About 16 cups, or 4 quarts)

• 10 cups butternut squash (from 2 medium sized squash)
• 2 large honeycrisp apples
• 3 rhubarb stalks
• 4 large carrots
• 1 purple onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 900ml containers of organic vegetable broth
• Salt & pepper
• 4 bay leaves
• Cumin
• Ginger
• Chili powder
• Cayenne powder

Optional Garnish

• Organic coconut cream
• Pomegranate arils

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 375 °F. In the meantime, chop all fruit and veggies into 1″ cubes, adding them into a big bowl as you go. If your squash has seeds, reserve them for later. Peel the garlic and add it to the mixture whole. Once you’re finished chopping, divide the fruit and veggies into 2 9″ x 12″ Pyrex glass baking dishes. Add 2 bay leaves to each dish.

2. Season liberally with olive oil, salt and pepper, and a sprinkling each of cumin and ginger. Stir the fruit and veggies around in the pan to ensure each piece is well coated with oil and seasonings. Bake at 375 °F for 30 minutes.

3. In the meantime, work on your seeds — we’re going to use them as a garnish later. First, rinse them with cold water in a colander, making sure they’re clean. Then, pour them into a loaf pan, and season them with olive oil, salt and pepper, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne and chili powder. Use these spices to taste, and feel free to omit any in the list or customize your blend.

4. After the half an hour is up, stir and rotate the veggies in the Pyrex dishes. Then, put them back in to cook for another 30 minutes. Add the seeds to the bottom rack to roast at the same time.

5. After the last half an hour, the fruit and veggies and seeds should be done. Remove the Pyrex dishes and seeds from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

6. Then, remove the bay leaves from the Pyrex dishes. Add the contents of the Pyrex dish to your Vitamix (or similar) and add the veggie broth. Blend on high for a few minutes until completely smooth. Add the blended mixture to a large soup pot and turn on low heat. Repeat the process with the last Pyrex dish, and in addition, add a 1/2″ piece of fresh ginger to this batch. Blend until smooth.

7. In a large pot, heat the soup through on low heat to allow all the flavours to marry together, stirring constantly. Add 1/2 tsp of cayenne powder and stir until well integrated. Taste and season as needed with salt and pepper. Mine was perfect without any additional seasoning.

8. Once the soup is warmed through, serve immediately. Ladle into serving bowls or cups — garnish with coconut cream, pomegranate arils, and some Roasted Squash Seeds!

Note: This soup also freezes very well if the recipe makes too much for you to eat all at once! I like to make big batches of things and freeze them so I always have something healthy on-hand for dinner. It comes in handy on those super busy days!

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AUTUMN HARVEST SOUP WITH ROASTED SQUASH SEEDS

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

1 hr 10 mins

Total Time

1 hr 30 mins

 

My Autumn Harvest Soup with Roasted Squash Seeds is the ultimate autumn comfort food -- hearty, nourishing and velvety smooth. It's an ultra clean recipe free of dairy and gluten if you're looking for simple dinner ideas this season!

Course: Soup

Servings: 16

Ingredients

• 10 cups butternut squash (from 2 medium sized squash)
• 2 large honeycrisp apples
• 3 rhubarb stalks
• 4 large carrots
• 1 purple onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 900 ml containers of organic vegetable broth
• Salt & pepper
• 4 bay leaves
• Cumin
• Ginger
• Chili powder
• Cayenne powder

Optional Garnish

• Organic coconut cream
• Pomegranate arils

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 375 °F. In the meantime, chop all fruit and veggies into 1" cubes, adding them into a big bowl as you go. If your squash has seeds, reserve them for later. Peel the garlic and add it to the mixture whole. Once you're finished chopping, divide the fruit and veggies into 2 9" x 12" Pyrex glass baking dishes. Add 2 bay leaves to each dish.

2. Season liberally with olive oil, salt and pepper, and a sprinkling each of cumin and ginger. Stir the fruit and veggies around in the pan to ensure each piece is well coated with oil and seasonings. Roast at 375 °F for 30 minutes.

3. In the meantime, work on your seeds -- we're going to use them as a garnish later. First, rinse them with cold water in a colander, making sure they're clean. Then, pour them into a loaf pan, and season them with olive oil, salt and pepper, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne and chili powder. Use these spices to taste, and feel free to omit any in the list or customize your blend.
4. After the half an hour is up, stir and rotate the veggies in the Pyrex dishes. Then, put them back in to cook for another 30 minutes. Add the seeds to the bottom rack to roast at the same time.
5. After the last half an hour, the fruit and veggies and seeds should be done. Remove the Pyrex dishes and seeds from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
6. Then, remove the bay leaves from the Pyrex dishes. Add the contents of the Pyrex dish to your Vitamix (or similar) and add the veggie broth. Blend on high for a few minutes until completely smooth. Add the blended mixture to a large soup pot and turn on low heat. Repeat the process with the last Pyrex dish, and in addition, add a 1/2" piece of fresh ginger to this batch. Blend until smooth.
7. In a large pot, heat the soup through on low heat to allow all the flavours to marry together, stirring constantly. Add 1/2 tsp of cayenne powder and stir until well integrated. Taste and season as needed with salt and pepper. Mine was perfect without any additional seasoning.
8. Once the soup is warmed through, serve immediately. Ladle into serving bowls or cups -- garnish with coconut cream, pomegranate arils, and some Roasted Squash Seeds!

Recipe Notes

This soup also freezes very well if the recipe makes too much for you to eat all at once! I like to make big batches of things and freeze them so I always have something healthy on-hand for dinner. It comes in handy on those super busy days!

What are your favourite fall soups to make? This week I’m also working on a turkey soup — we made a turkey broth over the weekend with the leftover bones from Thanksgiving dinner. If you try my Autumn Harvest Soup with Roasted Squash Seeds, let me know how you like it! Tag me on social or use the hashtag #justinecelinarecipes in your recreations, so I can find your post. I’d love to hear from you!

Thank you to The Calgary Herald for featuring this recipe.

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