Ginger Lime Squash Soup – Cilantro Pumpkin Seed Garnish

Even before the ball dropped on 2020, I’d been hankering to try a plant-based diet — a combo of wanting to contribute to climate action and to eat simple, healthy foods.  So far, so good — a frenzy of vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, seeds and fruits, all enjoyable and satisfying. 

Ginger Lime Squash Soup with cilantro pumpkin seed garnish is a tasty and nutritious addition to a plant-based repertoire.

Ginger Lime Squash Soup

• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 T olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T minced ginger
• 1 t each turmeric, curry powder, kosher salt
• 1/2 t ground cumin, freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Kabocha squash, pierced with a knife, roasted in 420F oven for 30 minutes, then seeded, peeled, chopped
• 1 sweet potato, roasted for 30 minutes, chopped
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 jalapeño, chopped
• 7 cups soup stock or water

Note: For a richer soup use 5 1/2 cups of stock or water to cook soup, then stir in a can of coconut milk as soon as soup is finished cooking when it’s still piping hot.

Another note: You don’t have to roast the squash or sweet potato before cooking. It’s just easier to handle the squash after cooking, rather than chopping it in its firm natural state.

Garnish  

• cilantro, chopped
• limes, halved or quartered
• roasted, salted pumpkin seeds

Set Instant Pot to sauté. When hot, add oil and onions, cooking a few minutes to soften. Add garlic, ginger and seasonings, stirring and cooking for a minute. Add remainder of soup ingredients. Using the manual setting, set Instant Pot to pressure cook for 12 minutes. Purée with an immersion or regular blender. Serve soup hot, garnished with cilantro, lime and pumpkin seeds.

If you’re using a regular stovetop, follow the instructions and cook for approximately 30 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.

Ginger Lime Squash Soup Print Ready Recipe

Final notes:

• This Spicy Lentil Carrot Soup just blew my mind all over again when I made it in an Instant Pot. It’s really easy to adjust recipes to use an Instant Pot instead of stove top. Sauté onion, then garlic with spices, add all remaining ingredients, except for coconut milk and cilantro. Pressure cook for 12 minutes. Add coconut milk and cilantro. YUM! You can substitute 3/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes for spicy red peppers.
• Here are 9 extremely delicious things to make with Kabocha squash, aka Japanese pumpkin.
• And here are many ways to skin one.  

 

• Ever consider becoming a reductarian?
• Uncut Gems was a very well cut gem of a movie if you don’t mind being unsettled for the duration.