Hello joyous readers!
This weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving and we totally lucked out on gorgeous weather in Toronto. It was a fun-filled busy few days of seeing family and friends. On Monday night, Walker and I hosted a couple of friends for dinner and the starter I made was this comforting acorn squash soup. I was inspired to make it because I received a squash in my Organics Live box last week.
I'm sure I've said this before because this is how a soup should feel, but it felt exactly like a warm hug! The coconut milk made it creamy and decadent and the bright colour of the acorn squash immediately uplifted you. It was very flavourful and made from the simplest ingredients. And, don't tell anyone you make this for but... it was SUPER easy to make.
I will share the nutritional highlights of the recipe down below.
Soups
Roasted Acorn Squash Soup
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Ingredients
- 1 acorn squash
- 1/4 cup filtered water
- 3 leeks
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 1-2 cups vegetable or chicken stock (depending how thick you like it)
- Lots of pepper
- Good dose of pink rock salt or sea salt
- Pinch of cayenne powder
- Squirt of fresh lemon juice
- Dollop of extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Cut acorn squash into quarters and scoop out seeds and goop. Place on a baking sheet or large dish. Pour water into dish and cover lightly. Bake for 50 minutes or until fork tender.
- Meanwhile, trim the green ends of the leeks and chop finely. Saute in a pan on medium with some organic butter, coconut oil or camelina oil until they are well cooked. You can add a splash of white wine while cooking them if you like!
- When ready, remove acorn squash from oven and let cool slightly. The peel will now be very easy to remove.
- Place roasted squash, cooked leeks, coconut milk and water into a high power blender or hand blend it in a large pot until a puree texture. Place pureed mixture in a large pot (if using a blender) and heat to a soft boil. Reduce to a simmer, add garlic and spices and squirt of lemon. Keep warm until serving.
- When serving, add a dollop of extra-virgin olive oil to each bowl.
- Serves 5.
Acorn Squash is one of my favourite fall veggies. Here's why:
Excellent source of carotenoids beta-carotene and alpha-carotene. Beta-Carotene is the precursor of vitamin A, which has been known to inhibit cancers since the 1940s. There are over 200 studies showing positive benefits for beta-carotene in the fight against cancer!
A study in Britain with 5004 women had samples of blood frozen and over a number of years, their health was monitored by St. Barts. Beta-carotene levels were almost 50% higher in women without cancer than in the ones who developed breast cancer. Meaning, it's a healthy boob food!
Leeks and garlic are essential for this fall soup. Plus they are nutrient-packed:
Rich in cancer-fighting organosulfur compounds which are produced when the cell walls of the vegetables are broken down by chopping, crushing or chewing.
These organosulfur compounds prevent the development of cancers by detoxifying carcinogens and halting cancer growth.
Garlic and onion phytochemicals are also anti-angiogenic, which means that they can prevent tumors from obtaining a blood supply to fuel their growth.
This soup might as well be called the cancer-fighter soup because I'm really only sharing a small sample of the nutritional info of these incredibly healing foods.
Other nice additions to this soup:
- Fresh ginger root (1-2 tsp)
- Give it a curry-inspired flavour with 1 tbsp turmeric, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander
- Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds
- Sprinkle with dried herbs. In the photo, I sprinkled it with dried organic basil
This soup is perfect lunch with a large raw salad. But please, I beg you... don't ruin this soup by microwaving it. That's not a very nice thing to do your food. So take it to work in a thermos and heat in the a.m. I hope this soup warms you on a chilly fall day. And if you live somewhere warm, I hope this soup feels a like a warm joyous hug!
Be Joyous,
Joy
Happy belated Thanksgiving to you!
ReplyJoy, how much water in the baking dish do you recommend? I'm guessing like 1/4 cup or so??
ReplyI made this recipe tonight and it turned out horribly. One leek at the most. It's way too strong and I'm pretty sure I'll be off leeks for a few years.
ReplyOh no! Feel free to modify as you see fit. We're real leek-lovers here at Joyous Health, but not everyone is. Kate - Joyous Health Team
I made this last night for dinner, and we loved it! It went perfectly with our steak and spinach salad; my husband said it tasted like a fancy restaurant. :) Thanks for the great recipe!
Reply