AIP gingery roasted winter squash soup - Instant Pot or stovetop, anti-inflammatory blended soup

Roasting a whole squash takes the better part of an hour, and on a cold day when energy is short, that is a task worth handing to the oven and walking away from. This soup rewards patience more than effort. Squash, onion, ginger, and a good bone broth simmer down, get blended smooth, and become something warm enough to eat with a spoon and nothing else.

Ginger has a long, ordinary history of settling digestion, and it is one of the warming aromatics that tend to suit a body working to calm inflammation. The squash itself turns velvety once it is blended, and its color is a rough marker for how much beta-carotene is in the bowl. Neither ingredient is doing anything dramatic on its own. Together, over many bowls, that is the whole point.

This came from a garden vegetable and a pot of good broth, nothing more processed than that. Pour it into your favorite bowl, swirl in the coconut milk so it streaks instead of blends flat, and notice the ginger arrive a beat after the sweetness does.

Ingredients

• olive oil, divided (about 2 tbsp)
• 1 medium roasting squash (tetsukabuto, acorn, or kabocha), about 2 to 3 lbs
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped or grated
• a few sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 to 4 cups unsalted chicken or beef bone broth or stock
• sea salt, to taste
• 1/2 cup full-fat additive-free coconut milk

Garnish (optional)

• 1 portobello mushroom, sliced
• coconut aminos
• olive oil
• sea salt

Method

Heat the oven to 400 F. Halve the squash, scoop out the seeds, rub the cut sides with a little olive oil, and roast cut-side down on a tray until the flesh is completely tender when pierced, around 30 to 40 minutes depending on the squash. Let it cool enough to handle, then scoop the flesh away from the skin.

While the squash roasts, warm the remaining olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and cook until soft and golden, then add the garlic, ginger, and thyme and cook another minute until fragrant.

Add the roasted squash flesh and the bone broth, season with sea salt, and bring to a simmer. Let it cook together for 10 minutes so the flavors marry. Remove the thyme stems.

Blend the soup smooth, either with an immersion blender in the pot or carefully in batches in a countertop blender. Stir in the coconut milk and warm through. Taste and adjust the salt.

For the optional garnish, saute the sliced portobello in a little olive oil with a splash of coconut aminos and a pinch of salt until browned, and spoon over each bowl.

Instant Pot variation

The Instant Pot lets you skip the oven and make this in one pot. Set it to saute, warm the olive oil, and soften the onion, then add the garlic, ginger, and thyme for a minute. Peel and cube the raw squash, add it with the bone broth, and cook on high pressure for about 8 to 10 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally. Blend smooth, stir in the coconut milk, and season. Roasting first gives a deeper, sweeter flavor; the Instant Pot trades a little of that depth for speed and a single pot.

Stovetop variation

If you would rather not roast, the squash can be peeled, cubed, and simmered directly in the broth on the stovetop until fork-tender, around 20 to 25 minutes, then blended. The flavor is lighter and cleaner than the roasted version.

*Adapted from heal-me-delicious*