Velvety Butternut Squash, Cardamom, and Lime Soup
One of the challenges of our business is keeping up with a regular cadence on blog posts 
and new recipes. I have no problem in keeping the creative juices flowing in the kitchen, but however hard I try to carefully ring fence recipe testing time to cook and photograph, operational business demands frequently take over.
This month I chose to join my youngest daughter and follow a strictly vegetarian diet, while cataloguing the successes and failures of a whole bunch of new recipes. I also celebrated my birthday during this time, when my husband ordinarily cooks up a three course feast with either game, fish or a simple aged steak as the centerpiece.
Not this year. He rose to the challenge and pulled off an Ottolenghi inspired banquet of marinated wild mushrooms with walnuts and garlic tahini, alongside roasted butternut squash with cardamon, sweet spices, fresh lime and green chili.
I’ve taken the flavors of the butternut squash recipe and transformed them into an aromatic, velvety soup packed with vitamin A, fibre, and other essential vitamins and minerals. I spent a little extra on an organic squash and used the whole thing, skin on, in an effort to cut prep time, it worked a treat. The whole green cardamom pods house several tiny seeds, which when ground up are used to impart their warm spice flavors of the fragrant compounds of cineol and limonene. Cineol lends a slightly menthol undertone, while the limonene adds a citrus note. The final swirl of the tahini – lime dressing before serving adds a little protein and a zesty kick.
Here is a sneak peak at a few of our new vegetarian recipes that made the cut for future posts: Portobello Mushrooms Provençale, Tomato Coconut Red Lentil Soup, Quorn Chile Verde, Creamy Herbed Dijon Portobello on Sourdough.
And to finish this week I want to share that the reality of recipe testing is that not everything works. I learned that pearl barley is not my friend in the instant pot or slow cooker!
Butternut Squash, Cardamom, & Lime Soup
Pressure Cook: Prep Time: 10m , Cook Time: 6m, **Total Cook Time: 21m, Servings: 4-6
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup / 1 medium onion small dice
- 1 whole organic squash / 2 lbs peeled, deseeded, large cubes (organic I use the skin)
- 1 tbsp green cardamom pods deseeded and ground (discard husks) / or 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp allspice ground
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper ground
- 4 cups vegetable broth
to serve:
- 3 tbsp / 80 ml fat free greek yoghurt
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 2 tsp lime juice / half lime
- 1 tbsp water to loosen
Instructions
Pressure Cooker Method tested in an Instant Pot:
- heat oil in Instant Pot on medium sauté function and add onion, sauté for 2 minutes to soften
- add the squash and sauté for a further 2 minutes, stirring
- turn off sauté function
- stir in cardamom, allspice, salt, pepper, and broth
- secure Instant Pot lid & set pressure valve to Sealing
- cook on Manual / Pressure Cook for 6 minutes
- once cooked turn the dial to Venting to Quick Pressure Release
- blend the soup with an immersion blender, Nutri bullet, or other
to serve:
- mix the yoghurt, tahini, lime juice and water
- swirl a spoonful of the dressing into the soup
Slow Cooker Method tested in a 6 quart Crock Pot:
- heat oil in a skillet on medium: add onion, sauté for 2 minutes to soften
- add the squash and sauté for a further 2 minutes
- transfer mixture to slow cooker
- stir in cardamom, allspice, salt, pepper, and broth
- cover and cook on LOW for 8 hrs or HIGH for 3 hrs
- blend the soup with an immersion blender, Nutri bullet, or other
optional
- add 1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed to bulk up this velvety soupadd chopped green chili for a kick
Notes
Zen Moment
