Meatless Monday: Rustic Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 3:37PM 
For this Meatless Monday, I borrowed a recipe from a friend's mother, so really I should call this Mama Russell's Rustic Curried Butternut Squash Soup. I did tweak a bit here and there; alas it is a bit of a collaboration. This recipe is wonderfully simple, although there is a good deal of chopping. The great thing about a "rustic" soup, however, is that the roughess of the chop makes it more beautiful and tasty.
I peeled and seeded one large butternut squash - about 1 1/2 lbs. The squash was cubed and gently steamed until tender, about 20 minutes. The squash could also be roasted to give additional depth and flavor, although this would take a bit longer and required heating up the oven. So the steaming is simple, more energy efficient, and keeps a clean pure taste in the squash. I then pureed the squash and set aside.
In the meantime, I melted some butter in a stock pot and added 2 teaspoons curry powder (I tried with both a West Indian and Spicy Indian blend - use your favorite and experiment!)and 1 teaspoon cumin. Cook this briefly - 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add 1 cup finely chopped red onion (Mama Russell does not specify type of onion), 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger, 1 large apple roughly chopped (granny smith, gala, honey crisp all work well) and 1 clove of garlic. Sautee about five minutes, or until soft.
Once the rustic items are ready, add the pureed squash and 2-4 cups of chicken broth depending on desired thickness. For a main dish, I used only about 2, although when I made it with 4 cups, it was a lovely accompaniment to a larger meal. The final touch is about 1/4-1/2 cup coconut milk (another departure from Mama Russell's recommendation of cream).
Served with bread and a green salad, this made a lovely fall meal and was even better the next day. I made this several times straight out of the pantry since I like to keep the fresh ingredients on hand generally. I will absolutely keep this recipe on hand for rainy weekends when I don't want to leave the house for a shop.
Reader Comments (2)
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Squashes are rich in vitamin A (in a form of beta carotene – important antioxidant, which helps to boost our immune system and fight inflammation which is very important during cold and flu season), and fiber which we always need to feel and look better.