Wintering Down…with Soup!
Insights & Recipe provided by Ruth Smiley, Owner/Operator of Blue Oak Ayurveda Healing Center in Mariposa, CA.
As the shortest day of the year draws near and we begin to gather inside for holidays, thoughts of belly-warming foods take shape in our minds and our kitchens. Vata (air and space) season is the time of Fall and early Winter. The conditions evoke windiness, a chill in the air (that progressively gets colder as the season moves on), and a fast-paced unpredictability and urgency to gather resources for the coming cold.
Vata’s influence over early winter is a dryer time, followed up by a wetter colder time in the very heart of winter. The heart of winter is overseen by Kapha (earth and water) dosha. Winter ushers in a solidification of the elements, and density, phlegm, and stagnation. Dietarily, in Ayurveda, we try to make the transition from Vata (dry/cold/mobile) to Kapha (dense/cold/moist) as smoothly as possible. How is the feat of moving from active and busy to calm and stable best accomplished? You guessed it—with soup!!
Winter Squash & Roasted Bell Pepper Warming Soup
Ingredients
6 Cups baked pumpkin/hard-skinned squash/sweet potato/yam (choose your preferred textured squashes or tubers, or combine what you have left from a Thanksgiving feast)
6-7 whole red/orange/gold sweet Bell Peppers
3 T Butter/Ghee/Coconut Oil
2 T White Wheat Flour/Oat Flour/Rice Flour
2 Cups Raw Whole Milk/Oat Milk/Coconut Milk
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric root powder
1/2 teaspoon Ginger root powder
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg powder
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper corn, fresh ground
1/8 teaspoon Hing/Asafoetida powder
1/4 teaspoon Cumin seed powder
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Dill Leaf, dried
1/2-3/4 teaspoon Sea Salt (depends on saltines of the stock or broth you use)
2-4 Cups of Stock (vegetable/chicken/beef etc), less if you like a thicker soup, or more of you like a thinner soup
1/2 cup fresh Whey OR 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Optional: 1/2 Cup grated aromatic or stinky melting cheese (better during the Vata time or to alleviate ungroundedness; less desirable once the damp of winter has set in)
To Prepare
Pre-bake or steam the squash and/or sweet potatoes; skin, leave in chunks, and set aside. Jack the oven up to 450°, and roast the bell peppers on a metal tray, rotating them to brown all sides and evenly release the skin. Once lightly cooled—so you can handle them!—strip the skins from the Bells; remove the seeds and tops, but save the delicious clear juice the gushes out.
While your peeled squash and Bells in their own juices rest, set to melt the butter (or fat of your choice) on a low temp, and introduce the flour, turmeric, ginger, nutmeg and black pepper to the gently bubbling fat. The mixture will begin to thicken, producing the base of a roux to which you add your milk. Slowly bringing up to a gentle boil, mix often to keep the bottom from sticking. Once the sauce has thickened and become smooth, melt in the cheese. Turn the sauce off, cover, and set aside.
Final assembly of this aromatic smooth but textured soup is simply to warm your stock in a soup pot, add squash, bell pepper, asafoetida, cumin, paprika and salt. Once the stock and veggies reach full heat, use an immersion blender to partially purée; a balance of texture and smoothness is ideal, but go by your preference. Then, fold in the roux-based sauce and dill leaf, slow simmer for about 15 minutes to integrate all the flavors, and unify the textures.
In the last couple minutes of simmering, add either whey or cider vinegar for sharpness and pizazz; do a flavor check and add any more salt, pepper, or other spices to taste. Keep in mind that squashes, sweet potatoes and bell peppers contribute varying amounts of sweetness and natural seasoning, so make your final spice check one that balances beautifully with the vegetables to highlight but not overpower their distinct contributions.
Condiment suggestions: for more Vata or airy traits, add a dollop of oil or fat; for Pitta cool with a little cilantro or extra dill; and for Kapha earthiness, balance out with a little extra cayenne or paprika or black pepper.
About Ruth
Ruth is the owner-operator of Blue Oak Ayurveda Healing Center located in downtown Mariposa, California. Visit www.blueoakom.com to learn more.
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