Butternut squash soup

What's more comforting than a warm bowl of butternut squash soup on a cold winter night? The ginger and turmeric spice gives this recipe it's warm flavour. Here I topped it with shiitake mushrooms and fresh basil but you can let your imagination run wild and add any of your favourite toppings.

If you aren't a mushroom lover like I am you could easily replace them with some roasted chickpeas, pumpkin seeds, plant based feta cubes, basil, etc. The possibilities are endless!

Served warm with a crispy plant based grilled cheese, this rich, nourishing butternut squash soup is all the comfort you need in a bowl.

This soup is a Fall staple in our house. Made with fresh and simple ingredients from our local farmers market. Some butternut squash soup can be overly sweet to me and I like to balance mine out with some warm spice and black pepper to give it a little kick.

I made this soup in the pressure cooker but you can just as well make it on the stove top. Just allow time to let it simmer. When making the soup in the instant pot I cut the veggies in rather large cubes, you can cut them smaller if using the stove top to allow for faster cooking time.

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BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP RECIPE

Prep time: 25 min

Cooking time: 8 min Pressure time: 25 min (depending on your pressure cooker - I use the instant pot) Total time: 1 h

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 medium-large butternut squash - peeled and diced

• 1 yellow onion - diced

• 3 garlic cloves - pressed

• 2-3 carrots - sliced

• 3 yellow potatoes - diced

• 1 tsp ginger powder

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp turmeric

• 1/2 tsp cumin

• 1/2 tsp paprika

• 1 tsp dried Italian herbs

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• 6-7 cups veggie broth

• 1 bay leaf

• salt to taste

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Toppings:

• 200g. shiitake mushrooms - sliced

• 1/4 cup fresh parsley - chopped

How to make it (in the pressure cooker):

1. Using the sauté setting on your pressure cooker, add in the onion with a little bit of olive oil and cook until soft.

2. Add the garlic and all the spices. Stir to coat the onion with the spice mixture.

3. Add all the veggies and stir for 1-2 minutes.

4. Add the veggie broth and bay leaf.

5. Put the lid in place and secure it.

6. Set to Pressure Cooking for 8 minutes.

7. While it pressurizes you can prep your toppings of choice. Here I sautéed the shiitake in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil and chopped the fresh parsley.

8. When the pressure cooker time is done, do a quick manual release (according to the pressure cooker you are using).

9. Pour in a blender or use an immersion blender. I personally prefer using a high speed blender as it gives the soup a smoother finish. You will need to do it in two batches.

10. Pour in your favourite bowl and enjoy!

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