Butternut Squash Coconut Soup
By Justyna Kwasieborska of Crazy Mango Girl
Two best things about fall are definitely huge bowls of creamy nutritious soups on repeat and my colourful oversized jumpers. Add to this a cup of a warm turmeric latte, and I think it’s safe to say fall is my favourite season of the year.
It’s already October so you’ll find me on the sofa all wrapped up in my huge fleece blanket with the biggest mug of soup and snacking on roasted curried chickpeas. Roasted chickpeas make the best soup topping by the way. You’re soon going to find out. Soup is definitely my go-to fall comfort food. You just throw everything together and in half an hour you’ve got a a bowl of a satisfying hearty meal to warm your belly and soul.
I find soups quite easy to prepare. They’re usually total experimentation on my part--every day I just improvise with what’s in the fridge and pantry and it’s usually a total success.
This Butternut Squash Coconut Soup is one of those successful experiments. But let’s be fair: you can’t go wrong with the butternut squash and coconut combo! Adding toor dal (split pigeon peas) and butter beans makes this comfort food really high in protein too, not to mention those roasted chickpeas that will go on top. This is definitely one of the most satisfying soups and it will sustain you for hours.
All ingredients should be easy to get from your favourite supermarket and if you’re someone who cooks vegan food a lot, like myself, you’ll probably have most of the stuff already in your pantry anyway.
Ingredients:
For the soup:
1 can of butter beans
1 cup toor dal
1 onion
1 inch ginger
2 carrots
1 medium butternut squash
1 sweet potato
1 red bell pepper
5 cloves of garlic
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/8 tsp nutmeg powder
1/2 tsp chili flakes
3 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 can coconut milk
5 cups of water
1/2 lemon
5 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
For the roasted chickpeas:
1 can of chickpeas
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
1/3 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/3 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
sunflower oil spray
Directions:
Dice the onion, red bell pepper and ginger. Peel and slice the carrots. Crush the garlic. Peel and dice the sweet potato and butternut squash.
Sauté the onion and garlic in a bit of coconut or sunflower oil. Add the ginger and spices and cook until the onion is tender.
Add the carrot slices, chopped sweet potato, butternut squash and 2 cups of water. Cook on a low light for 10 minutes.
Add the chopped red bell pepper, rinsed butter beans and split pigeon peas, and a can of coconut milk. Add 2 more cups of water.
Cover and simmer for approximately 30 minutes, until split pigeon peas soften. In the meantime, prepare roasted chickpeas.
Mix the chickpeas with all the spices and a few sprays of sunflower oil. Spread the chickpeas evenly on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 30 minutes on 200 degrees C.
Texture of the soup here is up to you. If you want a chunkier soup, you can leave it as is and proceed to the next step. If you prefer a creamier soup, add part or all of the soup to a blender and blend until smooth (be careful and ensure the steam can escape from the blender jar). Then, add the soup back to the pot.
Add juice from 1/2 lemon and chopped fresh coriander prior to serving. Top your soup with roasted chickpeas. I also added some pomegranate seeds and chopped chives for a pop of colour. Enjoy!
