Is it that time again?
Yes. It's squash season. This soup will be on regular rotation around here once again this fall. If you made it last year, I'd love to hear how you liked it and what (if any) adaptations you have made.
(I know. That's not a butternut squash up at the top of the post.
But the cut up one is! Another great example of use-what-you've-got.)
I made a soup this weekend that I could eat every day. Warm and sweet
and savory and nourishing through and through. Local butternut squash.
Kale and sage from the garden. White beans. Homemade stock. Amazing
goodness in every way. I love food like this.
Pete and I thought it was the best soup of the year. The kids were
honestly so-so about it the first day, so on day two I added a few
pieces of crispy bacon minced up and, well, there was none left for day
three. Oh, my. (Mind you I haven't had bacon in most of a year since it
is not GAPS legal -sugar in the curing process- so it was over the top
for us all.) Hallelujah. With the added bacon it was elevated to the
best soup ever.
Since I made this up as I went along and I
never measure anything, there was no recipe. But I love you. So I did my
best to make up a recipe so you can share in a bowl of my new favorite
soup. You can't go wrong with this combination. And so while my
quantities below are a bit sketchy, go with the flow. You'll find your
own perfect combination.
Autumn Squash and White Bean Soup
1 medium-sized squash, cubed and roasted (I used a butternut but the
red kabocha pictured at the top will be in the next batch later this
week.)
1 qt of just under-cooked white beans. (Ideally you will first soak
for 24 hours in water and 1 tb of whey from your yogurt; drain, rinse,
and cook in bone broth for 20 – 40 minutes on low heat with 2 cloves of
garlic.)
1 large bunch of kale, approximately 12 decent sized leaves, stemmed and chopped
1 small bunch of fresh sage or a big pinch of dry (if fresh use 8-10 leaves)
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Butter, ghee, coconut oil, or bacon grease
6 slices of crispy bacon, chopped
Salt to taste
Bone broth (4 C or so) (Homemade. Please?)
In your favorite soup pot, saute onion in 2 Tb of fat until
translucent. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add cooked white
beans, roasted squash, and enough bone broth to cover. Stir, salt, and
bring to a simmer. Remove 1/4 of the soup and puree until smooth. Return
to pot, add kale, and stir. Cover and simmer until kale is tender.
Serve topped with crispy bacon (or not).
Eat, laugh, and then dance around your kitchen pondering where this lovely soup has been your whole life.
Love,
Rachel
P.S. Do take the time to make your own bone broth
this season. All you need are the leftovers from any meat-eating you do
(fish or beef bones, chicken carcass etc.). It might be the single most
important thing you do for your and your children's health. I've always
made my own stock but bone broth became vital when we noticed Lupine's
early childhood tooth decay. We need what's in this magic potion! Every.
Day. Okay – stepping down off my soap box. Or bone-broth-box, as it
were.
Yuuuummmmm! I am definitely adding this to my recipe list and plan to try this weekend, if my butternut are ready by then.
Oooooh – thanks for the reminder! I made this last winter when you first posted it, and it is as good as you say! It’s on the menu for family dinner Sunday.
Looks delicious…may have to try that this weekend, the air is getting crisp and it’s about soup/chili time. I have found bacon (both beef and pork) at US Wellness meats – cured only with Sea Salt. They also make some sugar free bacon with Xylitol. Not sure if I can insert the url but I’ll try http://www.grasslandbeef.com/ just search for bacon. It’s not cheap, but not out of this world expensive either.
I love this soup. I have had it bookmarked for a while and made it several times. It’s great every time. Even without the bacon. Though… NOTHING beats bacon.
I just made a vegan version of this, modified to include ingredients I had on hand or ready in the garden: pumpkin (roasted), onion, garlic and veggie stock pureed with a hand mixer, plus kale, and cow peas. I also used some curry powder and smokey paprika. Delicious!
Hi! I learned this soup from my MIL a couple of years ago, and it’s a winner! But we do one thing different: cutting up butternut squash is a pain, so I peel the butternut and just cut off the bottom & remove seeds. Then pop it into into a pot with a couple of inches of water and steam it with the lid on. The steamed squash can be mashed with a potato masher & go right in with the cooked beans.
yum, I’ll have to try this one next week. I love squash soup. So I’ve never added whey to my soaking beans before??? Tell me about that?
It makes them more digestible. The whey helps break down undigestable aspects of the beans so that your body can utilize the food better.
I am sitting in a chilly studio, with my hands warming on a mug of this soup. Thank you for sharing this recipe, and for reminding me to get the crock pot out for bone broth. So grateful for the warmth today.
I made this last night for dinner, included homemade bone broth and it was a huge hit! Thank you for generously sharing your recipes Rachel. They never disappoint!
Hooray!
Do you beans get soft when you cook them after soaking in whey? Mine don’t. Ever. Talk about :/
I made this so many times last winter I lost count, and every single time was a double batch. I just finally made the first double batch of this winter, and we are getting down to the end of my Grandma’s 6 qt stockpot, but alas, we ran out of bacon. We are so into the bacon aspect of this soup, so I just made a whole package to add to the rest so we can properly finish it. 😉
Fantastic! So glad you are enjoying it. We had it just last night!