Carrot and Squash Soup

At this time of the year, we`re starting to get warmer days but it`s still quite chilly once the sun is gone, so every once in a while, it`s just nice to finish the day with a hot bowl of creamy soup. This recipe mixes some of our favourite vegetables with a healthy amount of spices.

Pre-heat the oven to 500F.

Start by peeling 2 butternut squashes, 2 carrots, 2 onions and 4 garlic cloves. Pull out the seeds from the squash and chop it in about 12 pieces each. Cut the carrots, onions and celery into 3-4 cm pieces, and leave the garlic cloves whole.

Add all the vegetables to a large bowl and add 3 tablespoons olive oil and a healthy amount of salt and pepper. Mix them until all the vegetables are coated. Place them in a baking sheet (no parchment paper needed) and roast for about 20 minutes, or until you start to see the edges beginning to brown.

Make your spice mix. Mix 2 teaspoons each of ground cumin, ground coriander and dry basil, and 1 teaspoon each of smoked paprika, all spice and cayenne pepper. Reserve.

Add all roasted vegetables to a pressure cooker, 2 tablespoons of the spice mix, 3 cups of chicken (or vegetable) broth, 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of grated ginger. Close it and pressure cook it for about 30 minutes.

Check if all vegetables are fully tender, add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and a ½ cup of heavy cream and blend them with a hand blender or in a regular blender. If using a regular blender do it in 2-3 batches. Taste it and adjust the flavours to your liking with more salt, pepper and the spice mix.

Serve with a drizzle of cream and fresh herbs.

Carrot and Squash Soup

Servings: 4-6

Time: 1h

Ingredients

3 Celery Stalks

2 Medium Onions

2 Carrots

2 Butternut Squashes

4 Garlic Cloves

1 Tbsp Grated Ginger

2 tsp Ground Cumin

2 tsp Ground Coriander

1 tsp Smoked Paprika

1 tsp All Spice

2 tsp Dry Basil

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

3 Cups Chicken Broth (or Vegetable Broth)

1-2 Cups Water

½ Cup Cream

Oil, Salt and Pepper to taste

Step-by-Step

1.       Peel carrots, squash, onions and garlic. Remove the seeds from squash and cut carrots, squash onion and celery in large chunks. Put all cut vegetables and garlic in a large bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper and mix until everything is coated. Place them in a large baking sheet and roast at 500F for about 20 minutes, or until they start to brown on the edges.

2.       Make a spice mix with all the dry spices.

3.       Once the vegetables are lightly browned but not cooked, add them to a pressure cooker with chicken stock, ginger, 1 cup of water and 2 tablespoons of the spice mix. Pressure cook them for 30 minutes. Let it naturally depressurize for 10 minutes.

4.       Remove from the pressure pot and blend the soup with the heavy cream and lemon juice until smooth. Add salt, pepper and more spice mix to taste. Serve with a drizzle of cream and fresh herbs.