You may be surprised to see a raw recipe with butternut squash, but according to Wikipedia:
The word squash comes from the Narragansett word askutasquash, meaning "eaten raw or uncooked",[6][7] and butternut from the squash's nutty flavor.
With some good blender power, even hard squash can be puréed to a smooth consistency. Blending it together with cashews and other veggies results in a rich, creamy soup. This Butternut Bisque is great throughout fall and winter, making good use of squash you can purchase and store for up to 6 months.
I prefer to buy whole, organic squash at the farmer’s market, but if you want to save time, you can use the pre-peeled chunks available in the produce section of most supermarkets. You can customize this quite a bit but skipping the jalapeño, ginger and / or the cilantro for a milder blend, or by adding more red pepper and / or tomatoes for a deeper orange color. This is one raw recipe I really like to warm up before eating. You can let your blender run for about 4 minutes to warm it up when you make it, or heat up the amount you’d like over low heat on the stove. It’s the perfect cozy dish to warm up your insides.
Ingredients:
2 cups water
1/2 cup cashews
4 cups butternut squash, peeled and chopped into small chunks
2 Roma tomatoes, cored and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 pitted dates
1/2 jalapeño pepper, chopped (leave the seeds for a spicier soup)
1 finger fresh ginger, peeled
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 large handful cilantro
Method:
Place all the ingredients except the cilantro into an 8-cup Vitamix blender pitcher and blend well until you have a smooth mixture. You should have a full 8 cups of liquid. If not, add additional water and / or chunks of squash. Taste and adjust flavor as needed.
Separate a few leaves of cilantro for garnish and add the rest to the blended soup. Blend again on low watching to see that the cilantro is mixed in, but leaving small green specks visible for a nice color and texture.
Pour the soup into bowls for serving and garnish with cilantro leaves.
Optional additional garnish: a dollop of plain coconut or cashew yogurt or a swirl of cashew cream.
Serves: 4-6