[OOPS, sorry folks! I think I promised this on Friday and I thought it was up and scheduled to go, and just noticed I never added the pics or set this guy up to post!!! This yummy soup is worth the wait though, I promise 😉 ]
It’s time for fall soups!!!! The highs here lately have been in the mid-90s which is lame. BUT it gets dark and fairly cool early in the evenings, and my office is always a refrigerator, so at least hot soups are great for dinners at home or lunches at work!
A couple coworkers and I decided we would take turns making soup once a week for the crowd all fall and winter. Last week was my turn, so I made this quick and easy soup (and it was surprisingly easy to make a TON of servings!) and I made homemade bread (using this recipe) buttery seasoned croutons. They were divine.
Preston and I had some of the soup and (way too many of the) croutons for dinner and I brought a big ol’ tub to work the next day. This recipe makes a FEAST!
A super duper healthy satisfying comforting warm flavorful feast 🙂
roasted garlic + kabocha squash soup:
serves 8
5 C cubed kabocha squash*
1/2 head garlic
2 T avocado oil, divided (any vegetable oil will work)
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 medium red potatoes, peeled and cubed (or one large potato – any variety works!)
2 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t ground sage
4-5 C vegetable broth
* I bought a medium-sized squash, cubed it up, measured and set aside one pound for another recipe, and used the rest of it in this recipe – it was about 3/4 of a medium squash. Don’t get hung up on the quantity of squash, it won’t make a huge difference!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Break apart the head of garlic so you have individual cloves, but do NOT remove their skins. Coat the cubed squash and garlic with 1T of the oil, put on a baking sheet, and roast for 50 minutes.
Heat the other tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and stir occasionally for five minutes. Then add the potatoes, roasted squash, and the roasted garlic. You’ll just take each clove of garlic in between your thumb and forefinger toward the back of the clove (the fattest part) and squeeze it and the gooey caramelized middle will come right out!
Add seasonings and enough vegetable broth to just cover all the veggies. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Puree everything together and give it a taste for extra seasoning!
buttery seasoned croutons
serves 8
4 thick slices of whole wheat/grain French bread, cubed
1 T Earth Balance margarine
2 t avocado oil (or other vegetable oil)
3/4 t Italian seasoning
1/2 t salt
Melt Earth balance in a large nonstick skillet. Add cubes of bread and toss around to coat them in margarine. I sometimes add a little drizzle of oil on top depending on the bread I use – if the bread absorbed the melted margarine really quickly so the cubes aren’t very evenly coated, then drizzle a little oil on top of the pan to help get them all coated so they’ll brown evenly and the seasonings will stick evenly. Add in the seasonings and toss until most of the bread is browned.
Top your soup with croutons and some chopped cilantro (sage or parsley would also be great!)
Nutrition facts per serving of soup: Calories: 99; Calories from Fat: 11; Total Fat: 1.2g; Sodium: 977mg; Total Carbohydrates: 17.8g; Dietary Fiber: 2.6g; Sugars: 4.7g; Protein: 4.5g
Nutrition facts per serving of croutons: Calories: 85; Calories from Fat: 22; Total Fat: 2.4g; Sodium: 265mg; Total Carbohydrates: 13.1g; Dietary Fiber: 2.5g; Sugars: 2.0g; Protein: 3.0g
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