…and now back to our regularly scheduled program “What can I cook with all of the Butternut Squash?”  On this episode we are making Creamy Vegan Butternut Squash Soup with Miso and Paprika.  I had never wondered what the ideal weather conditions were for  the butternut squash crop, but now I know.  With a long, warmer than usual, wet fall your New York farmshare will continue to send you butternut Squash every week until mid December.   It’s lucky that I really love butternut!  Scroll down to the bottom of this post for a gallery of butternut recipes.I actually came up with this recipe before the butternut squash siege began.  I made it for a guest at the Illuminati Ball who was allergic to mushrooms.  We whipped this up to serve instead of the Vegan Mushroom Soup.  This butternut soup is smokey, spicy, a little bit sweet and filled with umami flavor.  It’s also easy to make and uses ingredients that I usually have in my pantry, so I’ve made a few batches of this fall.   It freezes well if you need to make a giant batch of it to beat back the butternut squash.   I’ve been eating it every day this week for lunch and it’s very soothing on my sore throat.  If you don’t have hot smoked Spanish paprika, consider getting some because it is delicious…or use regualar paprika with a bit of cayenne pepper and a little splash of liquid smoke.

CREAMY VEGAN BUTTERNUT SOUP WITH MISO AND PAPRIKA

• 1 cup raw cashews soaked overnight in 1 cup water
• 1 butternut squash (4-5 pounds)
• olive oil
• 2 cups chopped red onion (3 small or 1 large)
• 1 large stalk of celery chopped
• 2 to 4 Tablespoons hot smoked spanish paprika (plus more for garnish)
• 1/4 cup sweet white miso
• 4 cups vegetable stock (homemade or made from good bouillon)
• Additional water as needed
• 1/2 lime

1. Process the soaked cashews and their soaking water until the mixture is totally smooth, like heavy cream.
2. Preheat the oven to 400.  Halve and seed the butternut.  Place it cut side down on an oiled baking sheet and bake until totally soft.
3. Over medium flame, heat a soup pot with a healthy glug of olive oil in it.  Add the onion and celery.  Close the lid and let the onion and celery stew for about 8 minutes or until they become translucent.
4. Scoop the cooked flesh out of the butternut and add it to the pot along with the vegetable stock.  Bring the soup to a near boil then reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Add all but 1/3 cup of the cashew cream along with the miso and paprika to the soup. Process the soup until it is totally smooth.  Add additional water as needed to achieve the desired consistency.  Taste and add more salt and paprika if needed.
6. Season the reserved 1/3 cup of the cashew cream with 1/4 tsp salt and the juice of half lime and use it to garnish the soup along with a few more sprinkles of paprika.

THE BUTTERNUT SQUASH RECIPE ARSENAL