Butternut Squash and Almond Cream Stew

Tonight for supper, I had a delicious butternut squash stew that was a wonderful winter treat. The squash was baked along with the Butternut Squash and Portobello Mushroom Delight recipe that was posted last week which made for a much easier and quicker cooking process.

Here is the recipe for Butternut Squash and Almond Cream Stew (see picture to the left):

1 tbsp olive oil, 1 medium onion, chopped, 2 garlic cloves, minced, 1 celery rib, chopped, 1 1/2 cup shitake mushrooms, chopped, 1 cup zucchini, chopped, 1 1/2 cup sweet potato, chopped, 2 medium carrots, chopped, 1 1/2 tsp curry powder (I used mild curry powder), 1/2 tsp sea salt, 4 1/2 cups vegetable broth/water, 1/2 cup almonds (blanched, de-skinned), 3 cups baked/mashed butternut squash, 2 cup leafy greens (I used a mixture of black kale and collard greens), chopped, 1 tbsp ginger, freshly grated, 1 lime, freshly squeezed, 2 cups beans (I used a mixture of black beans and pinto beans), cooked, 1 cup of rice (I used a mixture of short grain brown, long grain brown, and wild rice), cooked

Heat olive oil in soup pot and saute onions and garlic for 3 minutes. Add celery and shitake mushrooms and saute for 3 minutes. Add zucchini, sweet potato, carrots, curry powder, and sea salt and saute for 3 minutes. Add vegetable broth/water, bring to boil, reduce to simmer for 40 minutes. Remove 1/2 cup of stew, mix with almonds, blend (I used a hand blender) and return to soup. Mix in butternut squash and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and partially puree stew (I pureed approximately 25% with the hand blender). Add leafy greens, ginger, lime juice, beans, and rice and serve.

This stew was seasoned with flax oil and sea salt and was a warming and filling cleanse meal.