During the cold winter evenings, I want to eat something tasty and warming. A bowl of warm “Winter squash soup” is a wonderful healthy low-calorie vegan gluten-free dinner. And served together with a fresh green salad, it becomes a feast of flavors and aromas.

Butternut squash is a readily available winter vegetable—it can be bought at almost any grocery store or farmers market. It is suitable for preparing both savory dishes and desserts. And the seeds can be made into vegetable milk or roasted and added to salads. I love squash very much and that is why it is often present in our daily menu. For the preparation of “Winter squash soup” I choose butternut squash, which is slightly sweet – I just eat a piece of the raw pumpkin and prepare different dishes according to the degree of sweetness. I don’t throw away the seeds from the inside, but wash them and set them aside to dry. Then I peel or bake them at a low temperature and incorporate them into other recipes. Since I want the squash aroma and flavor to dominate the soup, I add some chopped leeks for a subtle onion flavor. Peeled yellow lentils and white quinoa give thickness to the soup, but they have no pronounced taste and aroma, so they do not change the taste and aroma of the squash. I use hot filtered water because it reduces the cooking time of the soup. I add sesame tahini instead of extracted oil and thus give the soup the aroma of roasted sesame seeds. And because I like the combination of different textures, I add chia seeds for a thickening and crunch element to the soup. I serve the slightly sweet “Winter squash soup” together with a fresh green salad flavored with freshly squeezed lemon juice – this way, the ordinary squash turns into a feast of flavors and aromas.

If you like spicy food, add chili powder to the soup or sprinkle chili flakes on top when serving.

Before serving, you can decorate the soup in the bowls with chopped fresh parsley leaves or with lightly pan-fried peeled pumpkin seeds.

Winter squash soup

Course: Recipes, Soups

Количество

1800

грама

Подготовка

minutes

Готвене

minutes

Калории

1364.56

ккал

Squash cream soup with yellow lentils

INGREDIENTS

200 g peeled yellow lentils
400 g butternut squash cleaned
130 g leeks
50 g white quinoa
40 g chia seeds
7 g ground coriander seeds
5 g turmeric powder
3 g ground cumin
1 g fennel seeds ground
1500 ml filtered hot water
20 g sesame tahini
10 g Himalayan pink salt
it can be replaced with any other salt

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

I cut a small butternut squash into pieces, remove the seeds from the inside and peel the skin. With a kitchen scale, I weigh the required amount of pumpkin, and then all the other ingredients from the recipe separately.
I cut the pieces of cleaned butternut squash into small pieces – it can be grated on a coarse grater. I cut the leek stalks into thin circles. I clean the peeled yellow lentils of impurities, wash them well and let them drain.
In a pot with a lid, I put the lentils and chopped vegetables, the hot water and the spices – coriander and turmeric, cumin and fennel. I put the pot on the stove and turn on the highest level of heat. When the water starts to boil, I reduce the heat to medium heat and wait 10 minutes for it to boil. Then I add the white quinoa seeds and wait for them to cook – about another 15 minutes. I turn off the heat, remove the pot from the heat and use an electric hand blender to puree the soup until a smooth, uniform mixture is obtained. I add the sesame tahini, salt and chia seeds. I mix well and let the soup cool and thicken for 10 minutes.
I put the soup in suitable bowls and serve together with a fresh vegetable salad for dinner. The soup can be refrigerated for up to 48 hours.