Happy Halloween Friends!
In honor of this fine fall season, I thought it might be good to share Chef Karolina’s awesome Maple Butternut Coconut Soup Recipe 😉 This soup is a favorite of two year old, Phoenix. You can also substitute pumpkin instead of the squash if you’re wondering what to do with all the extra pumpkins this week 😉
Other favorite meals/snacks of theirs: coconut curry noodle soup, quesadillas with sweet potato and avocado, seaweed “chips”, clementines, breakfast tacos, anything with guacamole, every soup forever and ever, “white” (vanilla) cashew ice cream with sprinkles, tempeh any way/any flavor, mac and avocado cashew cheese, and waffles made from leftover oatmeal.
“We are soup lovers just like you and M. And as you know, anything can be turned into a delicious soup. So I made a Maple Butternut Coconut Soup with A Spicy Cashew Kale Cream. I am always looking for more ways to include greens in Phoenix’s diet. He likes them but they have to be cut up into tiny pieces or pureed into something like this sauce. Also, who doesn’t like a “cheese” sauce? I put a spoonful of it on top of P’s soup and he likes to stir it in. Fun stuff. This recipe makes way more than just for this soup but it will not go to waste. (We use it on toast, mixed into noodles for a cheesy sauce, on quesadillas, as a dip…) Now hear me out: Even though it sounds all fancy and multi-steppy, I can assure you, it is super easy.”
Maple Butternut Coconut Soup
“This is not so much as recipe as an ingredient list. It really all depends on the amount of squash you are using. I happened to pick up a monster at the market so it made a lot of soup. But more or less, here we go…”
1. Peel squash, remove seeds, and cut into similar sized pieces. Place on sheet pan/roasting pan/baking dish and toss with coconut oil, maple syrup, salt, and red pepper flakes. Coconut oil should be enough to coat the pieces but the other ingredients use your own taste judgement. I like my soup not too sweet so I am conservative with my maple syrup but it’s your call. Same with red pepper flakes.
2. Roast at 425 F for about 40 mins to an hour, moving the squash around in the pan every so often so it roasts evenly.
3. Place squash in blender/food processor/use immersion blender with coconut milk. I usually use an entire can but if you are making a very small portion you may not. Blend carefully, in batches if you have a lot.
4. Transfer to soup pot and warm up mixture. Add enough vegetable broth or water to thin out to your desired likeness. Leave to simmer until soup is warm and let the flavors cook together for a few minutes. At this point taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed. I also like to add smoked paprika to balance and compliment the maple syrup. It’s a really nice combo. I have also been known to add curry at this point, instead of the smoked paprika. Also delicious.
Spicy Cashew Kale Cream
1. Soak 1/4 cup cashews in water. (If you don’t, it’s okay too. It’s better for digestion but not the end all.)
2. Drain and rinse cashews and place in food processor. Blend for a few minutes until you get a creamy consistency.
3. Add 1/4 cup chopped kale, a splash of apple cider vinegar, salt, and either red pepper flakes or hot sauce. Blend again.
4. This is when you make it all cheesy. I love nutritional yeast but I find that if you overdo it in these cashew cheeses, the flavor gets really overpowering. I would start with a tablespoon on two, blend and taste. Repeat by adding more until you find the flavor you like.
5. If your sauce is too think, add tiny bits of water while you are blending to thin it out, adjust seasoning if you do that. If you add way to much water, add more cashews. Enjoy!
Note: I use this same recipe with sweet potatoes, every other winter squash/pumpkin, corn, and even tomatoes. I hope you all enjoy!
A big thank you to Karolina. You can also find her:
NOURISH (an awesome meal planning website)
3 Comments
I've never thought to mix coconut milk and squash. Yum! going to have to try this one.
Happy Halloween Drea!! Have lots of treats and an occasional trick, why not! xxx
I'm not vegan or vegetarian (though I have been in the past) but this look delicious! Will be trying. 🙂