Butternut Squash Soup
This is a creamy vegan butternut squash soup that achieves its rich texture with almonds instead of dairy. I adapted this recipe from one that appeared in May All Be Fed by John Robbins. The original soup was quite labour-intensive, requiring you to boil and peel the squash and then blanch your own almonds. I have those steps in the notes for those who are interested, but I’ve cut the workload in this soup substantially with my adjustments.
Butternut Squash Soup
A vegan butternut squash soup with a creamy texture, seasoned simply with curry and a bit of black pepper.
Servings: 6 servings
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 pound butternut squash, peeled and chopped into small pieces See Notes, below.
- 4 1/2 cups vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup blanched almonds
- 1 1/2 tsp curry powder, or more, to taste
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper, or more, to taste
Instructions
- Add 3 cups (710 mL) of stock and the squash to a large pot. Bring to a simmer, then boil gently for about 15-20 minutes, until squash is cooked. Remove the squash from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside the stock in the pot. (See Notes below if you use frozen squash.)
- Combine almonds and remaining stock in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the cooked squash, curry, salt, and pepper and blend until smooth.
- Add the blended squash mixture to the pot with the stock and reheat over medium heat until desired temperature is reached. Taste to see if more curry or salt is needed.
- Serve with naan and a green vegetable, like steamed broccoli or green beans. You can also serve samosas or papadams on the side.
Notes
- The original recipe called for a whole squash to be cut and boiled in 3 cups (710 mL) of vegetable stock for 15-20 minutes, then cooled and peeled. To save time, use an approximately equivalent weight of pre-cut and peeled fresh squash. The amount of squash is forgiving since you can always add more curry at the end to liven up the flavour.
- You can use an equivalent amount of frozen squash but cut the cooking liquid to about 2 cups (480 mL). You can add additional stock at the end if the soup ends up being too thick. Depending on the brand of frozen squash, the texture can be quite watery so be prepared for a possible difference in texture.
- To blanch your own almonds, place raw almonds in a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds, then immediately plunge them into cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain them, then squeeze them between your fingers to remove the skins.
Squash image by Nataliia Golovanova | Dreamstime