October 4, 2017
I am a huge fan of the slow cooker/crockpot. It saves time, you can make multiple servings, and if you throw the ingredients in at 10am and come home 6 hours later, it smells like someone has been cooking for you all day! How can anything be wrong with this scenario?ha!
If you like soups, the crockpot is a no brainer, just like this naturally vegan, gluten-free, rich, creamy butternut squash soup, courtesy of Gimme Some Oven!
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced
- 1 medium (uncooked) butternut squash*, peeled, seeded and diced
- 1 sprig fresh sage
- 1 white onion, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper, or more to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or more to taste
- pinch of ground cinnamon and nutmeg
- 1/2 cup canned (unsweetened) coconut milk
- optional garnishes: extra coconut milk and a sprinkle of smoked paprika (or cayenne). I also like to add a dollop of yogurt and/or kefir, along with seeds like pumpkin, sesame or walnuts.
DIRECTIONS:
- Add vegetable stock, garlic, carrot, apple, butternut squash, sage, onion, salt, pepper, cayenne, cinnamon and nutmeg to a small (4-quart) slow cooker or large (6-quart) slow cooker. Toss to combine.
- Cook for 6-8 hours on low, or 3-4 hours on high, or until the squash is completely tender and mashes easily with a fork. Remove and discard the sage. Stir in the coconut milk.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. (Or you can transfer the soup in two batches into a traditional blender, and puree until smooth, being very careful when working with the hot liquid.) Taste, and season with additional salt, pepper and cayenne if needed.
- Serve warm, with optional garnishes if desired.
*A medium-sized butternut squash should weigh around 3 pounds.