Perfect for the Cold, Squash Soup with a Maple Bacon Twist

Here’s a great way to turn an already delicious, warm and hearty squash soup into a sensational seasonal starter that will have everyone coming back for seconds. Thick and creamy, full of rich harvest squash, only made more awesome by its soul mate, bacon. Is it soup? Is it pumpkin pie? Is it the world’s greatest breakfast food? The answer is: Yes. It’s everything you think, and more.

Ingredients:
Serves: 5  

• 1 organic butternut squash
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 organic brown onions, diced
• 3 organic garlic cloves, crushed, or 2 teaspoons of organic garlic paste
• 3 – 5 strips of diced maple bacon
• 1 – 2 strips of roughly chopped bacon (Or more. Optional)
• 1 teaspoon Organic Maple Syrup

• 5 cups of organic chicken stock
• 2 teaspoons of organic nutmeg powder
• 2 tablespoons ground organic flax (linseed)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• (Optional) organic cilantro for garnish

For your greatest convenience we have provided links for your ingredients for this recipe. They can be delivered right to your door at a remarkable price.

Remember when selecting your meat for any meal its important to think about if your meat was raised ethically. Buy locally whenever possible. Also I find quality, over quantity is a good rule of thumb to follow. Value packs may seem like a good deal but the meat is often highly processed and larger portions of meat are not doing your body any favours anyway.

 

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Wipe or spray an oven tray with olive oil.

• Coarsely dice butternut squash into roughly equal sizes, removing the skin. Place on your oiled oven tray. Drizzle a small amount of oil over the pumpkin. Cook for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until soft.
• Put 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot on medium-high heat. Add diced onion and sizzle until translucent. Add crushed garlic or paste and diced maple bacon to pot. Cook for a further 5 minutes.
• To the pot, add 5 cups of chicken stock, baked butternut squash and nutmeg powder. Stir mixture until it creates a uniform consistency, breaking up any large lumps of squash. Turn the heat to low and leave to simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Remove the pot of soup from heat and allow to cool a little.
• (Optional) Using a stick mixer or blender, blend the soup to a fine, creamy consistency.
• Stir in ground flax or sprinkle on top, and serve soup with garnishes to taste.

Another option is to fry some roughly chopped bacon separately, allow the fat to drain on a paper towel, and sprinkle the bacon over the top of the bowl of soup. If you can’t find maple bacon, add a tsp or so of organic maple syrup, to taste.