soup

Okay people. I’m not gonna lie.
I can’t believe I made this and I also I can not believe it is vegan, gluten-free, low-cal, spicy and deliciously filling!

This soup was inspired by my beautiful friend, Sanchia, who, as a “Taoist Vegan,” abstains from eating the five pungent vegetables; green onion; garlic; onion; chives; and leeks.

I am not nearly as evolved as my friend so as I said, this is a “Sanchia Inspired” dish.
I did use quite a bit of garlic and even some cheap,  dried onion flakes.
I’m just not ready to give up the pungent…

Also, for meat-eaters who have a hard time getting excited about diving into a pile of vegetables, this is a truly delicious way to fill up on healthy squash that tastes smokey, spicy, and dare I say it? more than a tad Manly!

NOTE:  If you’re a vegetarian who consumes dairy, go ahead and use regular sour cream and even add some Monterrey cheese at the end, melted on top!

HERE IS WHAT TO DO:

1. Turn your oven on to 400.
2. Into any oven-friendly dish or tray of your choice, place:
   1 Spaghetti Squash (or any type of Squash of your liking), crudely cut into about 3 or 4 pieces, skin on. That’s right. No fussing with peeling.
   1 Large, Red Pepper, cut into about 3 chunks, pith and seeds removed.
   3 Large garlic teeth, skin on (you will easily remove the skin once roasted).
3. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of White Truffle Oil OR Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the vegetables, and some Sea Salt.
4. Bake for 30 minutes, or until fork-tender.
5. Now, using a cloth to hold the hot squash, scrape out your softened squash meat with a large, sharp-edged spoon into a large soup pot.  This is going to go onto the stove.
6. Pop the softened, roasted garlic teeth right out of their skin and toss them into the soup pot.
7. Place the roasted peppers into the pot as well.
8. Add 2 cups of water and two teaspoons of vegetable broth base or cubes.
9. Now, into the pot with the Squash, Peppers, Garlic & Water, ADD:
   1/2 teaspoon of Chipotle Powder (or a teaspoon of Chipotle Chilis from a jar or can)
   1/4 teaspoon of Chili Powder
   1/2 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger root
   1/4 teaspoon onion flakes (mine, no kidding, are from a Dollar Store)
10. Take out your hand blender (or toss the concoction into a good blender) and blend until very smooth.
11. Simmer on low until you are happy with the flavor, about 20-30 minutes.
12. Ladle your soup into a bowl.
13. Swirl of Dollop a tablespoon of Vegan Sour Cream.
14. Shed a few fresh Thyme Leaves onto the top. If you don’t have fresh thyme, that’s ok. Just sprinkle fresh parsley or oregano for decoration and a bit of flavor.
    I have a sense that a bit of Fresh Mint could be very interesting!

TIP: To create my “swirl” design, all I did was spoon some of my sour cream mixture into a small plastic baggie. Then I snipped a corner and piped! Easy, breazy!

This would be lovely served with some warm, grilled herb bread.

SUBSTITUTIONS:

If you are not vegan, just use regular sour cream!
If you don’t have fresh ginger, use powder ginger! Ditto for the thyme, but try to grind it up before adding if it’s dry. This will bring out the flavor.