Curry Squash Soup

I’m still working through the mass quantities of squash from Friday’s Fall CSA.  Because I’ve been spending so much time with squash, I had a revelation today that I would like to share.  I love – really, really love – winter squash!  Who knew?  As I ate the last of my leftover Baked Winter Squash Pasta for lunch today, I fully realized the awesomeness of winter squash.

Squash is pretty.  Squash is tasty.  Squash is healthy!

So for my next squash recipe, I was inspired by the Coconut Curry Soup at Fresh Veggies in the Desert.  I am not a fan of coconut, but the combo of squash and curry sounded yummy, so I decided to experiment.

I started by roasting one of the kobacha squash from my CSA.  This is my new favorite squash.  It’s a little weird-looking, but that’s part of the fun.  It has a sweet taste, the texture is velvety, and it’s such a bright orange!  Love it!

While the squash was cooking, I cut up some carrots and onions, and sautéed them in a heavy-bottomed pan with olive oil.  I added salt, pepper, and curry powder to the veggies.  (As soon as I added the curry, it started to smell fantastic!!)  After they cooked for about 10 minutes, I added some chicken stock.

When the squash was done, I scooped out the insides and put them aside in a bowl.

I blended the squash and the chicken stock/veggie mixer in two batches.  I wanted a really smooth soup, so I blended it for a couple of minutes, then added it back to the pot to simmer.  Such a pretty color!

I felt like the soup needed something added to it, so I sautéed some shrimp with olive oil, salt, pepper and smoked paprika.  I love the bags of frozen, easy peel shrimp.  It’s such an easy, healthy add-on to a meal and it only takes a couple of minutes to cook!  I originally used smoked paprika for the color, but it turns out that the smoky flavor went wonderfully with the soup.

It’s nice when a plan comes together.

I topped the whole thing with a drizzle of sour cream just to make it look pretty, and there it is!  I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this dish.

Has anyone else ever made a recipe that you weren’t terribly excited about, but then ended up loving?  Isn’t it a nice surprise?

Now, the recipe:

Curry Squash Soup

• 5 – 6 cups cooked squash
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 2 small onions or 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 Tablespoons Curry Powder
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  There are different ways to cook squash, but I’ve had good luck with this method:  Cut the squash in half and scoop out seeds.  Place the squash, skin side up, in a casserole dish with about 1/2 inch of water.  Cook until the squash is soft – for this recipe, it took about an hour.  When you remove the squash from the oven, let cool for a few minutes.  Scoop out the cooked squash and set aside.

Add olive oil to a heavy bottom pan over medium heat.  Add carrots and onions, salt, pepper and curry powder and cook until soft (about 10 minutes).  Add chicken stock and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes.

Blend half the squash with half the carrot/onion mixture until smooth.  Blend the second half (unless you have a really big blender and you can fit it all in one batch).  Return to the stovetop and simmer.

Eat and enjoy!!

 

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