Butternut Squash and Coconut Curry Soup

06. December 2010 Soups, Stocks + Sauces 1

My mother handed me a butternut squash the last time I visited my parents’ apartment. I don’t usually get hand-me-down vegetables from people, but I was grateful for this one and immediately thought of butternut squash soup for dinner. Before cooking though, I opened my freezer to, er, re-arrange the vodka bottles in there and noticed the frozen leftover coconut milk tucked behind all the stock I’ve also stored. Something curry-ish came to mind and then something butternut squash soup-y curry-ish materialized from that.

I puréed the squash-coconut mixture towards the end of the recipe using my food processor. Do this in batches if you have a smaller food processor or else your kitchen counter will be squash-yellow by the time you have to eat. If you have a hand blender, even better! Feel free to add more stock to reach the desired soup consistency. I like mine a little bit chunky, so sometimes I even skip the entire step of pureéing it.

Ingredients:
1 medium-sized butternut squash
oil
salt
pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 tsp cumin, grounded
1 tsp coriander seeds, grounded
1 tsp curry powder
dash of cinnamon powder
2 cups vegetable stock
1 can coconut milk
chile flakes
parsley, roughly chopped

1. Preheat oven to 400º. Slice the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and pulp with a spoon. Slice into quarters. Drizzle the squash meat with some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place squash cut side down on a lined roasting tray. Roast for about 30 minutes, or until flesh feels soft when prodded. Remove from the oven and let cool. When cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Roughly chop into smaller pieces.
2. In a Dutch oven, heat some oil over medium heat. Sauté garlic until brown and then onions until soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes and all the spices and keep sautéing until tomatoes are broken.
3. Add the vegetable stock and let simmer. Add the roasted squash, then add the coconut milk and continue to simmer. When bubbling, aid the softening of the squash by crushing them using the back of a large spoon against the inside of the pot. Season with chile flakes for a bit of spiciness and salt and pepper as necessary.
4. When everything is well incorporated, scoop the squash-coconut mixture into a food processor, toss in parsley leaves, and do a quick blitz.

Related post/s:
Xiao Long Bao with butternut squash
Squash and Potato Gratin recipe


1 thought on “Butternut Squash and Coconut Curry Soup”

  • 1
    Rachel on December 6, 2010

    this looks amazing! a nice variation on the butternut squash soup with the coconut milk… i want to try this soon…

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