Creamy Roasted Squash and Root Veggie Soup is a great way to use up some of winters best produce.
I love soup. Like really love. Especially warm, comforting creamy roasted squash and root veggie soup, like this one here.
I also love Cost Plus World Market and swoon over their dishes every time I am in there. Which is often since there is a store about 5 min from my house. That's dangerously close. I had seen these soup bowls on several prior trips there and actually loved the whole set of dishes, but I don't really need a whole set and I was waiting for a coupon to buy them. When I finally had a $10 off member reward coupon I hightailed it over there to get my soup bowls. AH!! They were on sale but there were only two left. And not quite matching, but still part of the same set. So I bought them. I had been wanting them too long not to. And I also bought some napkins in the clearance aisle. And a bamboo handled spoon. And that casserole dish. I told you that store is dangerous.
I was setting up for my shot and took a couple test pics and realized I liked how they came out without the soup in them. I just love these colors. Complements the color of my creamy roasted squash and root veggie soup really well I think. I also think soup always tastes better in brand new bowls, don't you? Okay I just wanted an excuse to buy these. They were on sale after all..
The idea for this soup came from one Saturday am when we picked up our weekly basket of organic produce from Bountiful Baskets. Part of the massive veggie haul was a kabocha squash, two sweet potatoes, a pound of parsnips, two pounds of carrots, garlic, leeks, shallots and a whole lot more. I immediately thought " SOUP!" when I saw these. I love getting our weekly fruit and veggie haul. I got a juicer fro Christmas and have been making daily green juices ( which even my kids love) as well as making other recipes, but so far out all the recipes I have made from our bountiful baskets veggies, this root veggie soup has been the clear winner.
I am a big fan of roasting veggies, whether just to eat as a side dish, or when making soups, I think it brings out so much more depth of flavor, plus roasting veggies smells amazing. My go-to oil for roasting veggies is coconut. I buy it by the gallon from Tropical Traditions. We go through it so fast, using it for so many applications from lotion, to makeup remover ( that would be just me) to adding it in smoothies and as my "secret" ingredient in soups. iI really complements the flavor of the roasted squash and veggies in this soup.
Creamy Roasted Squash and Root Veggie Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Coconut oil
- 1 kabocha squash
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 1 lbs parsnips
- 2 lbs carrots
- 1 bulb of garlic
- 2 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, washed well and sliced thin
- 1 shallot, peeled and minced
- 8 cups of chicken stock, gluten free, low sodium
- 1 can of coconut milk, Not coconut milk beverage
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Smoked paprika for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 deg f. Prepare two cookie sheets with foil.
- Peel, deseed, and chop the kabocha squash into 1” chunks. Peel the sweet potatoes, carrots and parsnips and chop into large chunks as well. Spread evenly over the sheets and pour coconut oil making sure all the pieces are coated evenly.
- Slice the top of the garlic bulb, exposing just the tops of the cut pieces, set it on a square of foil large enough to wrap around it, drizzle coconut oil over the top and cover with the foil. Place on one of the cookie sheets.
- Roast the veggies and garlic, stirring the veggies and swapping pan positions in the oven every 15 min, roasting for a total of 45 min. Let cool 15 min. Take the garlic out of the foil once it is cool enough to handle and squeeze out the roasted garlic and place in a small bowl.
- In a Dutch oven or large heavy bottomed pot, heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. Sauté the leeks and shallots until starting to turn translucent and fragrant, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add in the roasted garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add in all the roasted veggies, stock and salt and pepper and bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer 10 minutes. Turn off the heat. Either, using an immersion blender if you have one, or a regular blender, puree the soup until smooth. If using a regular blender, puree in batches pouring the soup into a separate large pot or bowl to make sure the soup is all blended. Return to the pot and turn heat to low. Add in the coconut milk and stir until its fully combined, taste and season with more salt and pepper. This is a THICK soup. If you want to thin it out more, add more chicken stock 1 cup at a time and adjust with more salt and pepper if needed.
- Ladle into bowls and sprinkle the tops with smoked paprika. Serve hot.
I hope you enjoy this creamy roasted squash and root veggie soup as much as I do. I really want to go back and see if there are any more of these napkins on the clearance rack. Because, you know, I need an excuse to go shopping at Cost Plus.
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