Creamy Butternut Squash and Mushroom Soup

Creamy Butternut Squash and Mushroom Soup

August falls within the monsoon season in Sri Lanka, it’s just nothing but rain and a tiny bit of Sun. Alright I may have blown things out of proportion here, but it’s just perfect weather for being lazy and enjoying the relaxing sound of rain. Cold misty mornings just brings on cravings for something warm and soothing. Comfort food like a bowl of warm oatmeal, porridge or my favorite creamy butternut squash soup really does warm the cockles of the heart and breathe life into an otherwise lazy slow morning. 

Butternut squash also known as Batana is an all seasonal vegetable in Sri Lanka, and it’s been part of an age old diet. It’s such a versatile vegetable that can be prepared in various ways such as butternut squash purée as a substitute to cheese to make cheesy pasta, butternut squash gnocchi, stuffed butternut squash, butternut squash curry and many more. When its cooked it has a creamy, sweet and buttery texture which makes it perfect for many recipes, specially for soups. 

According to the Health line 01 cup of Butternut Squash contains;

• Calories: 82
• Carbs: 22 grams
• Protein: 2 grams
• Fiber: 7 grams
• Vitamin A: 457% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI)
• Vitamin C: 52% of the RDI
• Vitamin E: 13% of the RDI
• Thiamine (B1): 10% of the RDI
• Niacin (B3): 10% of the RDI
• Pyridoxine (B6): 13% of the RDI
• Folate (B9): 10% of the RDI
• Magnesium: 15% of the RDI
• Potassium: 17% of the RDI
• Manganese: 18% of the RDI

The recipe I’m sharing with you today is the Creamy butternut squash soup with mushrooms. This recipe is so easy to make and only require fewer ingredients. 

Ingredients For The Creamy Butternut Squash and Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups of cubed butternut squash
• 03-04 medium sized chopped onions
• 02 medium sized chopped garlic cloves  
• 1/4 tsp of minced ginger  
• 1/2 tsp of salt – adjust as per your preference 
• 1/2 tsp of pepper – adjust as per your preference 
• Few leaves of celery (about 7-10 )  
• Few leaves of basil (about 7-10 )  
• Few leaves of lemon grass (about 2-3 )  
• 02 cups of vegetable stock
• 03 tbsp of olive oil 

Toppings 

• 1/2 cup of sauteed button mushrooms 
• Hemp seeds 
• Chili flakes 
• Fresh thyme 
• Basil 

Ingredients For The Creamy Butternut Squash and Mushroom Soup

Method 

• In a pot over medium heat, heat some oil (you can use coconut oil or olive oil). Then add diced onions, minced ginger and garlic and cook till it becomes golden brown. 
• Then add diced squash and vegetable stock and give it a little mix. If you don’t have a vegetable stock then don’t worry, you can use water instead but make sure you add some more spice and herbs like coriander leaves, lemon grass, garlic, onions and carrots as these are the basic ingredients that you use to make vegetable stock.
• Then  add your herbs and spices – Salt, pepper, lemon grass, basil, celery and bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10-15 minutes covered until squash cubes are tender.
• Now purée the mixture using a food processor or a blender until smooth (make sure to remove lemon grass leaves before you blend because its mostly used to flavor the soup only).

Meanwhile you can sauté button mushrooms, to do that all you have to do is;

• Heat up a skillet and add some olive oil or coconut oil. Then add chopped button mushrooms, salt, pepper, 02 tsp of soy sauce and cook for about 5-7 mins tossing and mixing time to time. 

When the soup is ready pour it into a soup bowl, add sautéed button mushrooms, garnish with some hemp seeds, chili flakes and some herbs and enjoy ?

Creamy Butternut Squash and Mushroom Soup

Please let me know how this recipe turns out for you in the comments! You can also share your results with me on Instagram with the hashtag #thefoodsnapsrecipes. 

Cant wait to see your re-creations!