A Cook's Library

I make a lot of soups. This is partly since I got a Kitchen Aid jug blender that allows me to reduce my old lumpy and stringy soups into the kind of velvety puree that the finest French restaurant would be proud of.

Butternut squash (or any firm-fleshed squash or pumpkin) is actually is quite forgiving to less powerful blenders – it’s the soups that include celery, bunches of woody herbs or fennel that tend to leave stringy bits like dental floss behind them; if you want these smooth try pushing them through a fine sieve with the back of a wooden spoon. It works but is a test for both forearm and wrist strength.

Of course, you may like more texture in your soup or not like soup at all. So, if you have all the ingredients for this recipe but prefer your food with more bite (and a bit less like baby food) I have given a second recipe, using the same ingredients but for a curry not a soup.

You might read my tagline and point out that squash is hardly a local, seasonal vegetable for Londoners in early summer but one turned up mysteriously in my (very seasonal) organic box last week – and I had some coconut milk in the cupboard. Slow food is about embracing the wide variety of cultures and food traditions worldwide too, you know!

Squash is deliciously sweet (so a winner with children) and goes wonderfully with creamy coconut milk; the addition of delicate curry spices, just giving a whisper of heat makes this one of the most satisfying, nourishing soups I know. And it literally is nourishing – very.

Coconut milk, that once-maligned tropical delicacy we now know is extraordinarily good for you, full of the anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal lauric acid to boost the immune system, saturated fat that metabolises incredibly fast so can aid weight loss (amazing but true!) and other vitamins and minerals including potassium and calcium. Hooray for things that taste good and do you good at the same time. Actually I sometimes forget to include coconut in my diet (my cooking being fundamentally Mediterranean in style) so this is an easy way of doing so.

The other ingredients boosting the deliciousness and health profile of this soup (or curry) are the squash itself, full of carotenes, and even better the stock. PLEASE do use stock for your soups for every reason: economy, taste and health – the stock is mineral rich and excellent in an otherwise low-protein dish.  See my stock post for how to make this golden nectar.

Last but not least consider your curry spices (the usual suspects are coriander, mustard seeds, turmeric, star anise, cumin and cinnamon). Often I grind my own, this avoids any undertones of sawdust in your dish and adds an intensity of heat and flavour but if I can find good, fresh, authentic ones I buy – just make sure the powder has not turned to flavourless dust.

Butternut Squash and Coconut soup (serves 8 – 10 or make plenty for the freezer)

2 – 2 ½ lbs (1kg ish) butternut squash chopped into large chunks (before the skin came off my squash weighed almost 3lbs.

2 large onions, sliced into rough chunks

2 tbsp curry spice mix (more or less depending on your taste and their strength)

2 tbsp butter, ghee or coconut oil

1 tin coconut milk

20 fl oz (600ml) chicken stock (may need slightly more or less)

salt

Warm the butter/ghee/oil in a heavy-based saucepan and add the sliced onion and a pinch of salt. Fry until soft but not browning.

Add the spices and cook a few minutes.

Add the squash and cook a further few minutes.

Add the coconut milk and stock (it should only just cover the vegetables, if it drowns them you have too much liquid)

Cook for around 20 minutes or until the squash is completely soft.

Remove from the heat and blend to desired consistency.

Adjust seasoning and serve with some chopped coriander.

A Variation on a theme:

Butternut Squash and Coconut Curry

2 – 2 ½ lbs (1kg ish) butternut squash chopped into medium chunks (before the skin came off my squash weighed almost 3lbs.

2 large onions, finely sliced

2 tbsp curry spice mix (more or less depending on your taste and their strength)

2 tbsp butter, ghee or coconut oil

1 tin coconut milk

4 fl oz (125 ml) chicken stock (may need slightly more)

salt

Warm the butter/ghee/oil in a heavy-based saucepan and add the finely sliced onion and a pinch of salt. Fry until golden.

Add the spices and cook a few minutes.

Add the squash and cook a further few minutes.

Add the coconut milk and stock and cook until the squash is almost soft (about 15-20 mins) – you don’t want it to fall apart in a curry and the residual heat will continue to cook it.

If you want a more liquid consistency add more stock. If it is too liquid boil fiercely for a few minutes to allow it to reduce – stir whilst you do this to stop the onions and squash from catching.

Adjust seasoning and serve with brown rice and some chopped coriander.

Recipe Card

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 8th, 2010 at 6:59 am and is filed under Soups. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.