On a day like today, where it is cold outside, and the perfect thing to have is something that will warm you up to the core, nothing can beat a nice creamy soup. Much like driving from New York to San Francisco, there are multiple routes that a person can take. This soup has many different variations and ways to cook it. For the quick and dirty, putting everything in a pressure cooker for 15-25 minutes would have good results in a fraction of the time. My preference for a soup like this would be to use a slow cooker on the low setting. This way you can toss everything into your crockpot in the morning and have a nice soup for dinner with a side.
So let’s get started.
What is needed:
- 1 Medium Butternut Squash
- 3 Medium Carrots
- 1 Granny Smith Apple
- 2 – 3 cups Vegetable Stock or Water
- 2 Sprigs of Sage
- 1/4 Tsp Nutmeg
- 1/2 Tsp Ginger
- 1/4 Tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 Tsp Freshly Ground Pepper
- 1/4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1/4 Tsp Paprika
- 1 cup of Canned Coconut Milk
- Salt to taste
To start, peel your butternut squash and carrots, then cut your carrots, squash, and granny smith apple. For the apple, it is not necessary to peel it. To help with the process, I cut the butternut squash into 1/2-inch cubes. Alternatively, many stores sell precut or frozen butternut squash that is cut. Place the squash, carrots, and apple into your slow cooker. Depending on how runny or thick you would like the soup, I would recommend adding 2-3 cups of water or vegetable stock. Then add the rest of the spices, with the exception of the coconut milk.
Sage gives a nice flavor to the soup, depending on how you feel about the use of sage. It might be best only to add 1 sprig of sage instead of 2. Personally, I love the aroma and flavor that sage gives a dish and when ahead with using 2.
Now that everything is in the slow cooker, set it on low for 6-8 hours. I have a Fagor electric slow cooker, the low setting is pretty low and it typically takes 8 hours. Typically, around 6 hours, I will check in on the soup to see how things are coming along. If everything looks broken down and thoroughly cooked. At this point, it is good to see if any additional salt or pepper is needed.
Now that the soup is thoroughly cooked, it is time to remove the sprigs of sage and add 1 cup of coconut milk. If you have an immersion blender, this next step is a little easier because you can blend the contents in the slow cooker. Alternatively, the soup can be blended.
After blending your soup, garnish it and enjoy.
