heat oven to 450°, line a large sheet pan with parchment baking paper for easy cleanup
place butternut squash on pan cut side up and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of the avocado oil, then season with sea salt + cracked black pepper and roast until tender, about 25-30 minutes; when cool enough to handle scoop squash out and discard skins
heat a large pot over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon avocado oil when hot; cook onion, garlic and ginger with a generous pinch of salt until softened (being careful not to brown), about 5 minutes
add spices and lentils to pot and stir, then add squash and broth; if you prefer to use a store-bought curry blend sub about one teaspoon of this in place of the various spices listed above
cover and simmer soup, stirring often, until lentils are tender – about 30 minutes; season to taste with sea salt + cracked black pepper
optional step: using an immersion blender, partially puree soup; if you do not have an immersion blender you can puree all or a portion of the soup in a standard blender once it is cooled, then return to pot
garnish soup with cilantro, microgreens and/or pumpkin seeds
Recipe Notes
Recipe serves 4, about 1 cup per serving
Original recipe created by Jerran Boyer
www.healthnutchefs.com