Friends, this may be the most beautiful soup I’ve ever made. Or photographed. Or eaten. The lovely TK member Julia at The Roasted Root definitely has an eye for color and a wonderful sense for taste. This soup was one of those recipes that grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. 

Luckily, it’s fall. I’d have had a hard time finding a butternut squash in April.

Speaking of butternut squash, if you’ve got one, (carefully) chop it in half. You’ll need a very sharp knife for this. Butternuts don’t give in easily.

Scrape out all of the seeds and slimy stuff.

Drizzle some oil on the insides, and sprinkle it with salt.

Place them face-down in a baking dish and place them in the oven for 40-60 minutes, depending on the size of your squash.

Meanwhile, peel the beets and carrots, cut them into chunks and put them in your food processor.

Buzz them up until the pieces are small and slightly smaller than peas. Transfer to large mixing bowl.

Don’t wash the food processor. (I like how Julia thinks.)

Zest a whole orange.

If you don’t have a Microplane zester, stop what you’re doing and go get one. (Make sure someone is home to watch your roasting squash.) I love mine, and use it all the time!

Add the zest to the beet-carrot mixture.

Cut the apples into large chunks.

Add them to the dirty food processor. (Don’t worry, it’ll all work out in the end.) Also, juice the orange you just zested, right over the apples.

Good grief, I need a manicure. Maybe if I hold out long enough I’ll have pink French tips.

Buzz up the apples an orange juice, and dump it into the bowl with the beets and carrots.

Nope, not time to wash the food processor. Hang tight.

Peel and slice the ginger, and throw the ginger pieces into the food processor with the walnuts.

Process them until you have a chunky, finely chopped mixture.

And … you guessed it. Transfer the mixture into the other bowl, along with some unsweetened coconut.

Over that, add some extra-virgin olive oil, a few pinches of salt, and some toasted sesame seeds.

Mix it all together and you have this incredibly flavorful and vibrant garnish for the soup! I love all of the flavors in this salad.

I think my favorite color is beet, too.

Check on that squash now. You’ll know it’s done when you can easily stick a butter knife into it and the skin starts to turn golden brown.

Scrape out all of that soft, butternutty goodness …

And toss it into your blender. Add some of the chicken stock to help it blend.

Give it a whirl until it’s silky smooth.

Pour it into your favorite soup pot along with a can of coconut milk.

Grate some ginger into the pot. If you still don’t have a Microplane, it’s not too late to get one!

Add the cinnamon and salt. (I think next time I’d halve the cinnamon and double the ginger, but that’s just my taste.)

Add more chicken stock until the soup reaches your desired consistency.

Stir it well and heat it to a low boil.

Ladle this gorgeous soup into some bowls, top with a couple spoonfuls of the salad and a drizzle of coconut milk. (Don’t be like me and photo bomb yourself. Unless you really want to.)

I LOVED this soup. It has such a unique flavor, combined with the salad. Please don’t make this without the salad! I think it really takes the soup to a whole new level. (The recipe for the Beet Slaw can be found in Julia’s site. She credits her friend Jason for finding it on a paleo website.)

Thanks again, Julia (and Jason), for a great cleansing-between-rich-meals recipe for the holidays!

Be sure to check out Julia’s Tasty Kitchen Recipe Box as well as her blog, The Roasted Root, for more tasty, nourishing recipes!

Printable Recipe

Gingered Butternut Squash Soup

by Julia {The Roasted Root} on October 5, 2012 in Soups October 5, 2012 Soups

See post on Julia {The Roasted Root}’s site!

0.00 Mitt(s) 0 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 1 hr

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 6

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Simple roasted butternut squash soup with coconut milk, chicken stock ginger, and cinnamon. Easy, nutritious and dairy-free!

Ingredients

• 1 whole Butternut Squash, Medium-sized
• Olive Oil, To Drizzle On Seeds
• ½ teaspoons Salt, Or To Taste
• 3 teaspoons Fresh Ginger, Grated
• ½ teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
• 2 cups Chicken Or Vegetable Broth
• 1-½ cup Coconut Milk (full-fat Recommended) Or Almond Milk

Preparation Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Cut butternut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and lightly drizzle the flesh with olive oil and salt. Place squash in a casserole dish cut-side down and bake for 50 to 60 minutes until flesh is very soft and juices are seeping out.

Allow squash to cool and once cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh out and place it in a blender (discard the skin). Add the remaining ingredients to the blender and blend until completely smooth.

Pour the soup into a pot and heat to a low boil.

 
 
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Be sure to check out Natalie’s own beautiful food blog, Perrys’ Plate, where you can see her growing collection of lovely recipes. There’s always something new to see there. Go visit now!

 
Tender, tasty portobello mushrooms stuffed with flavorful vegetables and spices and sprinkled with cheese. Baked until golden. Hungry yet?

Today’s recipe, brought to us by acher, would be a splendid starter for a dinner or a full course at lunch. The stuffing is hearty and filling, but has a complexity of flavors. White wine, fresh fennel, and Italian sausage all lend lovely notes.

All you need is a few ingredients from the market.

Portobello mushroom caps, olive oil, white wine or broth, Italian sausage, fennel, onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, egg, cheese (I used marble jack), sandwich bread (I used homemade), rosemary (I used dried, but you can use fresh), and crushed red pepper flakes.

Preheat your oven to 450° F. Wipe the mushrooms with a paper towel to remove any dirt.

Scrape out the gills with a spoon.

Drizzle some oil in the bottom of a baking dish and place the mushrooms on top. Drizzle a bit of oil on top of the mushrooms. Set aside.

Brown the sausage over medium-high heat.

Add a sprinkling of crushed red pepper flakes.

As the meat is browning, chop up the vegetables: onions …

Fennel …

Bell pepper …

And celery. Whew!

Slice the garlic very thinly.

Chop the rosemary finely.

Add the vegetables and rosemary to the sausage and saute until crisp-tender, about 5-10 minutes.

Add the wine or broth to deglaze the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast the bread.

Cut the toasted bread into cubes.

Stir the bread cubes and cheese into the sausage/veggie mix. The bread will soak up the wine/broth. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.

Lightly beat the egg.

Remove pan from heat and stir in the egg.

Mound the stuffing mixture into the mushroom caps.

Sprinkle with a bit of extra cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender and the stuffing is browned.

Glorious.

Notes:

1. There was much more stuffing than could fill two mushroom caps. Thankfully I had some baby bellas on hand to fill.
2. I found that I only needed to cook the mushrooms for around 25 minutes. You should set your timer to 15 minutes and check the mushrooms every so often so they don’t burn.

 
Thank you, acher, for sharing this delicious recipe with us!

Printable Recipe

Glorious Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

by acher on August 19, 2009 in Main Courses August 19, 2009 Main Courses

5.00 Mitt(s) 3 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 35 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4

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What to do when you have odds and ends of veggies and two beautiful portobello caps? Make stuffed mushrooms of course! The amount of filling in this recipe will stuff two large portobello caps, and easily feeds 4 with a loaf of crusty bread and a salad.

Ingredients

• 2 whole Portobello Mushroom Caps
• Olive Oil
• ½ pounds Bulk Italian Sausage, Or Links With Casings Removed
• 2 teaspoons Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 whole Onion
• 1 bulb Fresh Fennel
• 1 whole Bell Pepper, Any Color
• 3 stalks Celery, With Leaves
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 3 sprigs Rosemary
• ¾ cups White Wine (can Substitute Stock/broth)
• ½ cups Shredded Monterey Jack, Plus Extra For Sprinkling
• 4 slices Good Sandwich Bread, Toasted And Cubed
• 1 whole Egg, Lightly Beaten

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 450F.

Wipe the portobellos clean with a paper towel and scrape out the gills with a spoon. Drizzle enough olive oil in the bottom of a glass baking dish to coat. Place portobello caps in the baking dish, top down, drizzle with oil, and set aside.

Brown sausage in a large skillet with a little bit of olive oil and the crushed red pepper over medium high heat.

While the sausage is browning, dice the onion, fennel, and bell pepper, chop the celery, and slice the garlic as thin as you can get it.

Remove the rosemary leaves from the stems and finely chop. Add the veggies and garlic and rosemary to the skillet and saute with the sausage until crisp-tender, about 5-7 minutes.

Add the wine to deglaze the pan and allow to cook for another 5 minutes or so.

Stir in the shredded cheese and bread cubes. The bread cubes should soak up whatever wine remains in the pan.

Taste it at this point, and add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (or more red pepper!). Stir in the beaten egg. The stuffing mixture should seem a little wet.

Mound stuffing mixture into portobello caps. It’s ok to pack it down a little bit to make sure that it stays in place.

Sprinkle with a little extra shredded cheese. Bake at 450F for 35-40 minutes, or until the portobello is tender and the stuffing is golden brown.

 
 
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Erica Berge shares her wonderful recipes and amazing food photography on her blog, Cooking for Seven. She also writes about crafts and posts more of her beautiful photography in her personal blog, EricaLea.com. There really isn’t much that this amazing young lady can’t do, and we’re thrilled she does some of it here.