Pumpkin or Squash Soup Recipe

This recipe is Gluten free, Vegetarian friendly, Vegan friendly, and Low-sodium

Ingredients

      2 onions chopped up small
      2 cloves garlic smashed and minced
      2 acorn or butternut squash or even a small pumpkin
      4 sweet potatoes
      2 white potatoes
      5 carrots sliced
      2 apples peeled, cored & sliced
      maple syrup to taste
      dash cinnamon & cardamom
      4 pats butter (Vegan-sub 1/2 butter substitute and 1/2 applesauce)
      1 tbs any flour (GF- sub corn starch, potato starch, or gf flour mix)
      salt to taste (Low sodium- sub for garlic powder and pepper)
      2 cups milk (Vegan-switch to almond, rice, or soy milk)

Preparation

The key to a good squash soup is to bake the squash and sweet potatoes and white potatoes and to not rush them along. With pumpkin or squash, I will cut the vegetable in half, scrape out the seeds and bake face down on a cookie sheet.

Saute the garlic and onions in olive oil until clear. Add the carrots and apples until soft.

Once the squash and potatoes are soft, let cool & peel. Put innards into the pot with the other simmering veggies. Let it all meld.

Next, make a roux. Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the flour (I use oat flour or spelt. Most flours will do.) With a fork, mix in the butter and the flour until the flour is slightly brown. Add one cup milk and keep stirring, the milk will thicken right up. When it is thick, add the other cup of milk. When that thickens up again, add to the veggies.

Blend it all together until desired degree of smoothness. I use an immersion blender, but you can also use an upright blender.

Add the maple syrup, dash cinnamon, cardamom. Salt to taste. Serve warm with a good piece of bread. I like to garnish with a think slice of dried pear. This year I dried lots of red pears with the skin on and it looks so pretty!