With the winter days getting shorter, natural light has been getting harder to come by. I decided to get creative last week and start experimenting with artificial light. I’ve been really lucky to have access to my partner, Matthew’s camera gear and expertise. He has taught me everything I know about photography and I’m so grateful for all of his support. It’s been quite the learning curve, but I think he’ll agree that I’m finally getting the hang of it.
We set up some lights the other night and I whipped up a batch of this delicious Roasted Squash & Ginger Soup. It took four hours and several meltdowns to get the shot, but in the end I was pretty pleased with the results. The photo’s turned out a little warmer than I’m used to, but a little editing sure beats chasing the sun. It looks like my home office is going to remain a makeshift studio for the time being. That being said, if you have any artificial lighting tips for food photography, please send them my way!
Now let’s get on to the recipe, shall we?
This recipe came to mind while cleaning out the fridge. Seriously, it’s that easy. I pulled out a bag of carrots, celery root, squash, onions, leftover bone broth and was sure I could scrounge up some seasonings. I always keep canned coconut milk, dried herbs and spices in my pantry for everyday cooking and situations like this. What I love about making soups and stews is that they’re generally easy to throw together and can be modified with ingredients you have on hand. I pretty much eye-balled this recipe and it turned out to be absolutely delicious!
This soup gets it’s exceptionally rich flavour from it’s cooking method, which starts with roasting the squash until perfectly tender and caramelized. I used a buttercup squash, but any winter squash will do the trick. The next step involves sautéing the ingredients in a ceramic pot and simmering for about half an hour. Once the vegetables have softened, you can either puree the soup with an immersion blender, or carefully transfer it to your blender to finish the job.
This soup makes a great compliment to sandwiches and salads or can be enjoyed all on it’s own. If you’re sharing it with company, feel free to add a sprinkle of turmeric, fresh parsley or some toasted pumpkin seeds for extra visual appeal!
- 1 buttercup squash (about 3 lbs)
- ½ medium yellow onion
- ½ celeriac (celery root)
- 3 carrots
- 4 cups bone broth
- ½ cup full fat coconut milk
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1.5 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- Optional garnish: fresh parsley, coconut milk, turmeric, toasted pumpkin seeds (omit for AIP)
- Preheat oven to 400F. Cut buttercup squash in half, scoop out seeds and drizzle with ½ tbsp avocado oil. Bake for 45 minutes, or until tender and beginning to caramelize.
- Peel and roughly chop remaining vegetables. Set aside.
- Heat stovetop to medium and add 1 tbsp avocado oil to a large ceramic pot. Add onions and saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add carrots, celeriac and garlic and saute for another 5-7 minutes.
- Add bone broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover with a lid, simmering for 25-30 minutes or until vegetables are softened.
- Remove squash from the oven. Scrape contents away from flesh and add to pot. Add coconut milk, salt and ginger and simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Using an immersion blender, puree ingredients until smooth (adding water to thin if necessary).
- Garnish with fresh parsley, coconut milk, toasted pumpkin seeds and turmeric, if desired. Serve immediately!
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