I have previously posted a butternut squash soup recipe, but I recently made a different version, and I thought I would share it with you.

While I was flipping through the Make it Paleo cookbook that Jamie had received, I was surprised by the simplicity of their recipe for butternut squash soup. It called for only butternut squash and onions, along with some spices. When I make soup, I generally put any and all vegetables I can find into it, so I was curious to find out how this basic recipe would taste. I made it my mission to find out.

It was pretty easy to gather everything together. I honestly don’t think that I have ever made a soup with so few ingredients; I was a bit skeptical, but I resisted my temptation to grab turnips, leeks, celery, or sweet potatoes. I was going to try and make this as written. Believe me, this was a huge challenge because I love to add in extras to almost every recipe I try 🙂

What intrigued me the most about this recipe were the spices that were called for: Cinnamon and Nutmeg! I never in a million years would have thought to put those two flavours in a soup. I understand how they would complement the deliciousness of a butternut squash, but I usually bypass those two spices when gathering together the ingredients to make a soup.

So, after peeling and cubing up the squash and the onion, I threw everything in the pot with some chicken broth. It took about 25 minutes for the squash to be cooked enough so I could easily pierce it with a fork.

I pulled out the immersion blender and within a couple of minutes I had a puréed butternut squash soup. When I tasted it I totally understood why there were so few ingredients listed in the original recipe. This soup totally highlights the awesomeness of fall flavours, allowing the sweetness of the butternut squash to truly be the star.

The spice combination of cinnamon and nutmeg was the perfect flavour combination to complement the butternut squash. It almost reminded me of a sweet potato casserole but in a soup form. I topped the soup with some toasted almonds and that was it.

It was kind of an eye-opener for me, to realize that I don’t need half of the produce aisle in the fridge to make a delicious soup. A key ingredient, along with some complementary spices, is all that is needed 🙂

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Courtesy of:
Make it Paleo – Bill Staley & Hayley Mason

Ingredients:

• 1 onion – chopped
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 medium butternut squash – peeled and chopped
• 4 cups chicken broth

Directions:

1. Sauté chopped onion in coconut oil in a large pot.
2. Add in cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
3. Add in chopped butternut squash and pour in chicken broth.
4. Boil the butternut squash in the broth until tender.
5. Purée the soup with an immersion blender until smooth.
6. Garnish with a sprinkling of cinnamon and some toasted almond slices.