Since Halloween and Thanksgiving are coming up, I thought this would be the perfect time of year to serve this creamy, satisfying, and easy soup. When I was developing the recipe, I made the soup so many different ways. I tested the soup with onions, versus shallots, versus leeks, and all the soups tasted the same. I also tested the soup with half and half versus cashew cream. My husband and I did blind taste tests to confirm which creamy soup we preferred, and we both agreed the cashew cream soup was tastiest. If you are not familiar with cashew cream, do not be scared. It is easy to make and it really has no taste; it simply thickens and enrichens the soup. I think in my old age, my tummy is becoming sensitive to dairy products. So this is the ideal soup if you watching your diet or simply cutting out dairy.
Make sure you buy unroasted and unsalted cashews. This is very important for the cashew cream. I prefer the organic low sodium vegetable broth, and I love the precut butternut squash from Trader Joe’s. Cutting up a butternut squash is simply not fun!
My son loves a pinch nutmeg in the soup, I prefer cayenne pepper over the nutmeg. But either one works, depending on your taste. I like to garnish the soup with a sprinkling of roasted pepitas. I buy them at HEB in the produce isle. We are addicted to pepitas. We pull them out to munch on when we are having a drink. So if you buy them they will not go to waste.
You must soak the cashews a minimum of 4 hours to overnight at room temperature. I usually soak them in the morning before I make the soup in the afternoon, or you can soak them overnight. Just the cover the cashews with water.
Peel the onion, slice off the ends and roughly chop the onion.
Peel the garlic and roughly chop the garlic.
On high heat in a medium saucepan saute the onions with 1 tablespoon olive oil for 4-5 minutes till golden.
Add 4 1/2 cups of broth, the butternut squash, garlic, and black pepper to the onion mixture and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover, turn heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes.
While the soup is cooking you can prepare the cashew cream. You must rinse the cashews and drain before adding to the blender or Nutribullet. Rinsing the cashews makes the cashew cream easier to digest.
You need a powerful blender or a Nutribullet to make the cashew cream. If your blender is not powerful you will not achieve the smooth consistency you need. I like to use a Nutribullet because its powerful and quick. You simply combine 3/4 cup of vegetable broth with the rinsed cashews and blend till really smooth and creamy. Alternatively you can add the cashews to your blender with your 3/4 cup of broth, start on a slow speed and build up to the highest speed for 1 minute. Check to see if you have a smooth texture. It is easier in the blender since you can add your soup to the cashew cream and blend all together. The Nutribullet does make the cashew cream smoother than a traditional blender.
Once the soup has cooled, spoon it in the blender and add your salt. Blend till smooth. Since my cashew cream was made in my Nutribullet I blend the soup first and then add the cashew cream. If you make the cashew cream in the blender first, you will just add the soup to the cashew cream and blend all together. Make sure to open the top of the blender a little to allow steam to escape to prevent an explosion.
Add the cashew cream and blend again till smooth and creamy. Taste the mixture for consistency. If you prefer a thinner soup then add more broth and blend again. At this point you can add a pinch of nutmeg or cayenne pepper and blend once more to combine.
Your soup is ready to reheat for serving or storing for later.
The soup fits perfectly in these containers I bought from HEB. They have screw tops so they are awesome for transport, and they stack which is a bonus.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH CASHEW CREAM RECIPE
Serves: 4-6 people
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 cup raw and unroasted cashews, soaked minimum 4 hours in water, drained and rinsed
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
Two 12 ounce packages precut butternut squash from Trader Joe’s
5 1/4 cups (44 ounces) vegetable broth, divided (3/4 cup and
4 1/2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
generous grinding of black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS
Pinch of nutmeg or cayenne
garnish with roasted pepitas
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
powerful blender or
Nutribullet
PREPARATION
Soak cashews in a small bowl, cover with water and soak a minimum of 4 hours or overnight.
Roughly cut up one onion and place in a medium pan. Turn heat on high and add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Saute for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally till golden.
Add 4 1/2 cups of the broth carefully to the pan (it will sizzle due to high heat) along with the butternut squash, the garlic and black pepper.
Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 20 minutes.
While the soup is cooking, make the cashew cream by first draining and rinsing the cashews. Place them in a blender or Nutribullet. Add 3/4 cup of the remaining vegetable broth. Blend till very smooth and creamy. If using a blender, start the mixture on low and build up to the highest speed for 1 minute still smooth.
Once soup has cooked, let it cool down a little before blending.
If you made your cream in the blender, simply add the soup and blend till smooth. Allow steam to escape from the top so no explosion will occur. If you used the Nutribullet, blend your soup first and then add the cashew cream.
Sample to make sure you like the consistency, and add more broth if necessary. You can add a pinch of cayenne pepper or nutmeg if you desire, and blend once more.