Butternut Squash, Apple and Ginger Soup

We are now officially in fall and I can tell, its chilly in a morning so I’ve had to dig out my warm coat, the leaves have turned lovely shades of red and orange in the village and pumpkin spice lattes are being advertised at every starbucks! I do love autumn, we are still having nice bright blue skies and now that it’s getting chilly I am cooking up lots of hearty soups and stews!

I decided to make a butternut squash soup because they are now in abundance, it’s also rich and delicious! The ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon really add warmth and flavor to the soup and the apple compliments the squash nicely

Making your own soup is so much tastier than the stuff sitting on shelves for months, its also very cheap and you can make the most of the vegetables that are in season. It’s always quite surprising to me how much goes into blended soups, it’s a great way to get your daily fruit and veg intake (butternut squash is technically a fruit!).

Butternut squash is packed full of health benefits, it is high in fiber, antioxidants, vitamin C, B6, it also helps fight against breast cancer with its high amount of beta-carotene and against heart disease with its folate levels and carotenoids.

I love the variety with soup, you can have them chunky or blended, creamy or broth based and the ingredients are endless, I think next time I make this type of soup I am going to make gf bacon croutons, they would be really tasty with it.

I stirred in a little Dairy Free sour cream and served with toast! Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 1 Large Onion Finely Chopped
• 3 celery stalks chopped
• 2 tablespoon of dairy free butter
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 1 butternut squash chopped into small pieces
• 2 apples, skinned and chopped
• 600 mls of chicken or vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup of coconut milk (the drinking kind)
• 1 thumb of ginger finely grated
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• a little grated nutmeg

Directions

Melt your dairy free butter over a medium heat then add your onion, garlic, celery and cook down untill soft (about 5 mins) then add in your squash and apple pieces and cook for a further 3 minutes. Pour in your chicken stock, bring to the boil then reduce heat to medium and allow to simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Put the soup into a blender and puree until smooth then add back to your rinsed pan and add in the coconut milk, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and season. Give it a good stir and then serve with gluten-free toast and if you like a little dairy free sour cream.