Butternut Kale Soup

It’s the perfect weather for soup! Soup is a marvelous thing. It’s customizable to your personal tastes and budget friendly. This soup started out as an effort to use up a butternut squash that was languishing in my cupboard. I found a recipe that I thought would work, but less than half way through the recipe I quickly realized I didn’t have all the necessary ingredients, and the choice of flavors was not one that my family would enjoy. This recipe was invented out of salvaging what was in the left in the pot and the results became one of our favorites! I quickly wrote down what I did so I wouldn’t forget!  The butternut squash cooks down into the stock and makes a nice, rich broth, but is still a chunky soup that is a nice change from the pureed versions.

Ingredients:

1 large onion  diced

2 cloves garlic minced

1 cinnamon stick

3/4 tsp ground coriander

3/4 tsp groups cumin

1/2” piece of ginger grated

1 medium butternut squash

1 1/2 cups diced carrots

2 medium potatoes diced

2 cans garbanzo beans with liquid

2 quarts chicken stock

approx. 3-4 cups kale torn/ chopped into bite size pieces

Directions:

Prepare butternut squash by either peeling and dicing, or you can save your wrists by cutting in half and baking in oven 400 F until fork tender, approx 30 min.  Cool to touch and scoop out the flesh and set aside. Sauté onion until translucent. Add garlic, ginger and spices and cook until fragrant, one or two minutes. Add butternut squash, potatoes, carrots, garbanzo beans and broth. Cook until vegetables are tender. Add kale and salt and pepper to taste and cook an additional 5- 10 min. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving with crusty bread and enjoy!