Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Almond Cream


November 23, 2014

This roasted butternut squash soup recipe with almond cream and spiced pumpkin seeds is an incredible holiday starter for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

This roasted butternut squash soup recipe with almond cream and spiced pumpkin seeds is an incredible holiday starter for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Scott and I are huge Candle Cafe fans and we got this roasted butternut squash soup recipe from their cookbook.

We never miss eating at any of their locations when we visit NYC, and after having spent an incredible thanksgiving at the restaurant two years ago when we were living in Manhattan, we could not wait to get our hands on Vegan Holiday Cooking from Candle Cafe.

If you’re looking for healthy vegan holiday recipes this book is going to blow your mind with the creative offerings. The book is broken up into the different holidays throughout the year so you can easily whip up something healthy and delicious for any festive occasion. Find recipes for Super Bowl, Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day, Passover, Easter, Cinco De Mayo, 4th Of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Eve.

I am literally cooking my way through the book because every single thing I have ever tried at the restaurant and in the previous cookbooks has been extraordinary and full of complex flavors. So, I don’t want to miss a thing! So far I have made the roasted poblano guacamole, make your own chili bowl, miso-ginger braised tofu over bamboo rice pilaf, sake-lime sorbet with toasted coconut (wow!), sweet potato latkes with almond creme fraiche, flourless chocolate cake with macaroon crust (just heaven!), chickpea crepes with berries and vanilla-lavender cream, quinoa vegetable cakes, La Poblana sangria, tempeh fajitas, and the caramel flan! Everything has been phenomenal.

For thanksgiving and christmas recipes we’ve made the roasted brussels sprouts with apples, cranberries, and maple-cayenne dressing, roasted cauliflower and fennel soup with truffle oil (ah-maaazing), the christmas pomegranate punch, and this roasted squash soup! Because I am posting the week of thanksgiving I had to share this soup because it’s super delicious and different from your traditional squash soup. You just need to be organized and soak the almonds the night before to make the almond cream. But, if you forget, you could always serve it without it. It’s still delicious!

This smooth and creamy soup, garnished with rich almond cream and toasted pumpkin seeds, makes an elegant starter for a Thanksgiving feast. We recommend making batches of this nourishing soup all season long and keeping it on hand (it freezes beautifully) for cozy dinners that will warm your heart and soul. Note that the almonds must be soaked overnight.

Don’t be intimidated if some ingredients seem unfamiliar to you. There is a great resource section at the back which will help you find everything.

If you’re looking for spectacular vegan holiday recipes snag your copy of Vegan Holiday Cooking from Candle Cafe. I absolutely love it!

 

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Almond Cream

This roasted butternut squash soup recipe with almond cream and spiced pumpkin seeds is an incredible holiday starter for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings 8
Author Tess Masters

Ingredients

almond cream:

  • 2 cups sliced almonds,  soaked for 12 hours, rinsed, and drained
  • 3 tablespoons safflower oil
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Celtic sea salt
  • 1/2 cup filtered water
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

squash soup:

spiced pumpkin seeds:

Instructions

  1. To make the cream, the day before serving, put the almonds in a bowl and add enough water to cover them. Cover and let soak overnight in the refrigerator.
  2. Drain the nuts and transfer to a blender. Add the oil, lemon juice, salt, and water and blend until smooth, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, stir in the chives, and set aside. The cream will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
  3. To make the soup, heat the oil and buttery spread in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, apple, cinnamon, chipotle powder, sage, rosemary, lemongrass, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
  4. Add the squash to the pot and stir to coat, about 3 minutes. Add the stock, bring to a boil, decrease the heat, and simmer, covered, until the squash is tender, about 40 minutes. Remove the lemongrass stalk and let the soup cool.
  5. Transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. Or blend the soup with an immersion blender until smooth. This will have to be done in batches. The soup can be made ahead of time up to this point. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen up to 3 months.
  6. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300°F.
  7. To prepare the pumpkin seeds, combine the seeds, oil, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl and mix together. Transfer to a baking sheet and roast for 5 to 10 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until the seeds are lightly browned.
  8. To serve, pour the warm soup into bowls. Add a dollop of the almond cream and sprinkle with the roasted pumpkin seeds.

Recipe Notes

Recipe from Vegan Holiday Cooking from Candle Cafe by Joy Pierson, Angel Ramos & Jorge Pineda (Ten Speed Press, © 2014)
Photo by Trent Lanz; styling by Alicia Buszczak

Comments

Comments 4

  1. Love that you are sharing this recipe thanks but just a quick question. The recipe says “roasted” squash soup and the only thing I see roasted are the pumpkin seeds. Did I miss something? It works better for me this way anyway as I do not have an oven! Thank you 🙂

    1. Sorry for the confusion Christine. It’s not roasted squash. It tastes a bit roasted because of the pumpkin seeds. Enjoy!

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