I watched “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” about Mr. Rogers this morning and sobbed while I ate my breakfast bagel. What is it about the goodness of this man that touches my heart? A line in particular that keeps coming back to me is “You don’t have to do anything special for someone to love you.” WHOA. Lately, I have been really wrapped up in trying to make my creative endeavors the best they can be, working really hard to push myself and get uncomfortable, and at the end of the day I feel fatigued. But to know that you can just be you and that you are loved for just that–what a reminder to accept and love ourselves right where we are.
This week, I’ve been looking inward a lot. Trying to make my mind and my body healthier. I want to feed my soul with good things, so why not do the same for my body! I needed a reset, so I made this soup on a whim out of the millions of bags of carrots I keep buying for no reason. And I added a little roasted butternut squash for an extra punch. Carrot Ginger Soup was something my mom used to eat that always disgusted me as a kid. But as an adult, I totally get it. It is HEALING. So I made a Curried Carrot Ginger Soup with a little quick Garlic Naan from a hack I learned in college.
Let’s get started! First, we will peel our butternut squash. I did this with a vegetable peeler, but the skin is very thick, so go over it a couple times. Slice off the ends of the squash and then cut in half longways. Using a spoon, scoop out all the insides like you would a pumpkin. Then dice the squash into 1/2 inch pieces. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with a little olive oil, pumpkin pie spice (you heard me right!) and curry powder. Then roast for about 10-15 minutes or until the squash is pierced easily with a fork.
Let’s peel our carrots, and cut them into thin pennies. Then peel your ginger and grate it or mince it with a knife. Dice your onion and garlic cloves.
In a large soup pot, add the onions, carrot, garlic and ginger. Saute for about ten minutes. The carrots will be beginning to soften and the onion will be translucent. Add in the salt, curry powder, and cumin and stir together. Then pour in the broth. Bring this to a rolling boil and then back down to a simmer and cover, simmering about ten minutes or until the carrots are very tender.
Add in the squash and remove from heat. Mix together and then using an immersion blender, carefully puree the soup. Once pureed, put the soup over low heat and add the coconut milk, stirring occasionally, and heating just until the soup is warmed. Keep on very low or cover and remove from heat until you’re ready to serve.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Now to make the naan! I learned this hack in college from a worn out old copy of “college cooking.” Full of 3 ingredient dinners, it showed how to make naan. In a medium bowl, add the yogurt, flour, and salt. Mix together with a spoon and then with your hands, incorporating all the flour into a dough. Form the dough into a ball and divide into two pieces. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough into two circular patties, 1/4 inch thick.
To a nonstick pan over high heat, add the patties, cooking 2 minutes on each side until both sides are spotty and browned. Then place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and minced garlic and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve with the soup!
I like to cut the naan into triangles for serving, so you can easily dip. Another hack for this dough, is to use it as a pizza crust! I like to bake it first and then add my toppings and bake it again.
This recipe is vegan if you use vegan yogurt to make the naan or omit the naan.
- 1 butternut squash
- olive oil
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp curry powder
- 6 carrots
- one 3 inch piece of ginger
- 1 yellow onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp salt
- 15 ounce can coconut milk
- 5 ounces plain greek yogurt (about ½ cup)
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- a pinch of salt
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Preheat the oven to 425 F.
- Peel your squash with a vegetable peeler. Slice off the ends and cut in half longways. Scoop out the seeds. Dice the squash into ½ inch pieces. Reserve half of the squash pieces in a plastic bag and freeze for later or use for another recipe. Peel and slice your carrots into pennies. Dice your onion. Mince the garlic cloves. Peel your ginger and mince or grate.
- On a large baking sheet, add the remaining squash. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil (about 2 tbsp) and 1 tsp curry powder and 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice. Toss with a spoon until coated. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until squash is fork tender. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- In a large pot, add a drizzle of olive oil over medium high heat. Once hot, add the ginger, onion, carrots and garlic. Saute until onions are translucent, about 10 mins. Stir in the curry powder, cumin and salt. Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer on low and cover, simmering for 10 minutes or until carrots are very soft and can easily be pierced with a fork. Uncover and add the cooked squash. Stir to combine and remove from heat.
- Carefully, use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Taste for any needed seasoning. Put the soup back on the stove on low heat. Add the coconut milk and stir. Cook until heated through.
- Heat the oven to 350 F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the yogurt, flour and salt. Mix together with a wooden spoon and then lightly knead with your hands until the dough is a shaggy mass and not much dry flour remains. Form into a ball and then divide in half. Make each piece into a ball. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a floured surface, forming a ¼ inch thick rough circle.
- Heat a nonstick pan on the stove over medium high heat. Add the discs of dough, heating each side about 2 minutes or until browned on each side. Place each piece on a baking sheet. Brush with a little olive oil and the minced garlic. Bake for 10 minutes. Serve with the soup.
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