It’s the last day of September and I think it’s past time to start in on copious amounts of deliciously warming autumn recipes. This soup is from an adaptation I made three years ago on the blog, but this time I added red lentils for a punch of protein – a perfectly rounded out vegan dish.
Protein-Packed Butternut Squash and Leek Soup
Print recipe
| Serves | 4-6 |
| Prep time | 15 minutes |
| Cook time | 1 hour |
| Total time | Warning: A non-numeric value encountered in /home/bitesn5/public_html/wp-content/plugins/getmecooking-recipe-template/recipe-template-functions.php on line 2723 Warning: A non-numeric value encountered in /home/bitesn5/public_html/wp-content/plugins/getmecooking-recipe-template/recipe-template-functions.php on line 2725 1 hour, 15 minutes |
| Dietary | Vegan, Vegetarian |
| Meal type | Main Dish, Soup |
| Misc | Serve Hot |
This soup is SPICY, slightly sweet and full of veggies and protein thanks to the lentils! If you need to clear out your sinuses, this is the soup to make! Not only are you getting massive amount of Vitamin A from the butternut squash and a huge dose of protein from the lentils, but you also hike up your metabolism with the cayenne.
Ingredients
- 1 Large butternut squash (halved and seeded)
- 4 Large leeks
- 1 head garlic
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup red lentils (rinsed)
- 2.5 cups water
- 1.5 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon cayanne pepper
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
| Step 1 | |
| Place the butternut squash halves, cut side up, on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. At the same time, remove the papery skins from the garlic, then wrap the entire head of garlic in foil. | |
| Step 2 | |
|
Bake squash and garlic at 350 degrees for 60-75 minutes, or until fork easily pierces through the thickest point of the squash. |  |
| Step 3 | |
|
Allow the squash and garlic to cool while you prepare the lentils: Place the rinsed lentils in a pot with the 2.5 cups of water, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for about 35 minutes, stirring often. |  |
| Step 4 | |
| Trim, wash and thinly slice the leeks. | |
| Step 5 | |
| Saute the leeks in 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat for 15-20 minutes while the lentils cook. | |
| Step 6 | |
| Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the casing and into the pan with the leeks and saute for another 5-10 minutes. | |
| Step 7 | |
| Add the cubed butternut squash and saute for 10 minutes. | |
| Step 8 | |
| Add the vegetable broth, cooked lentils, ground nutmeg, cayenne and ground pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes. | |
| Step 9 | |
| Take an immersion blender and puree the soup into a creamy consistency. If you don’t have an immersion blender, ladle the soup into a blender and blend until smooth, then pour back into the pot. | |
| Step 10 | |
| Slowly stir in salt, pinches at a time, until you reach the desired taste. | |
I garnished this with my spicy-sweet roasted squash seeds, also from an old blog recipe, and paired it with one of my favorite pumpkin beers – Elysian Night Owl.
And now, I’m off to enjoy this gorgeous day with a mountain bike ride! Happy trails!
I only had half the amount of cayenne pepper and that was more than enough for me. It takes some time but we enjoyed it.
This is a good recipe aside from the suggested amount of nutmeg, which is too much. A third (1/2 tsp) would be plenty–as-is, the nutmeg taste is overwhelming.