Autumn Pear and Butternut Squash Soup

This soup breaths cooler fall nights, it is THE perfect soup to get you connected to your local seasonal produce. The hazelnuts are ready to pick, the butternut squash are curing in the fields and the pears are freshly picked off the tree. The roasted rosemary and hazelnut topping is a big hit, it adds beautiful texture and enhances the flavours of the pear and squash. If you wanna get serious, you could always roast the pears first, this will give another depth of flavour and add some more sweetness to the end soup.

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Ingredients

665 grams or 6 cups butternut squash (cubed)
1 ½  cups onions chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 can full fat coconut milk
1-2 teaspoons Red curry powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
2 yellow pears (ripe, halved and cored)
3-4 cups chicken broth or veggie broth (add more if needed after blending)
¾ teaspoon salt *You may need to add more salt at the end

Roasted hazelnut and rosemary topping
½ cup hazelnuts (chopped)
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
⅛-¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Method
Sautée the onion, squash and garlic in the oil until onions are translucent. Add the  spices, cook for 1 minute, add the rest of your ingredients, bring to a simmer and simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove from the stove, allow to cool a bit before blending, season if needed

For the hazelnut and Rosemary topping, toss everything together in a bowl and bake at 325 °F for 10-12 minutes or until lightly toasted.


Creamy Butternut Squash Soup


800g or 6 cups frozen butternut squash
1 can or 400ml organic coconut milk (full fat)
2 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon fresh ginger
2 teaspoons fresh garlic or 2 cloves
3/4 cup onion (large cubes)
1-2 tablespoons Madras curry paste ( I use Patacks)
1 tablespoon organic coconut oil
Juice of 1 lime

Method
Chop your garlic, ginger and onion coarsely. Everything is going to be pureed, so there is no need to make perfect cuts.
Heat a soup pot on medium and add the coconut oil.
Add the garlic, ginger and onion, sauté for 3-4 minutes.
Add the remainder of the ingredients, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Allow the soup to cool down for 5-10 minutes before blending
Season with salt and pepper if needed.

Note- This is not strict low carb. If you use fresh butternut squash, add 3 cups of broth instead of 2 cups.