Thai Honeynut Squash Soup


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What is a honeynut squash? It’s like the little brother to the butternut squash, it is also about 10x sweeter, and fits in the palm of your hand.  You could use either squash interchangeably in recipes, especially this one, or you could even use a kobocha. All three of these squash varieties, are winter squash, have a beautiful sweet orange flesh, full of flavor, can be steamed, roasted, or pureed for soup, and loaded with beta carotene, iron, vitamin C, potassium, and a great source of fiber.

A few months ago I signed up for a pay as you go, weekly CSA near work through GrowNYC. It’s amazing. I pay $12 a week in advance and pick up the following week, and each week is a mystery on what you will receive. The best blueberries I have ever tasted came from this CSA box. There hasn’t been a bad week yet. When you pick up each week and pay for the next week, they have all the items for that week on tables with a sign in front of each item letting you know how many of each item you take that week. One week we received 16 (!) Italian plums! One of my favorite parts of this CSA is at the end of the table there is an exchange box and wow have I scored big time with this exchange box. Each week there is probably one item that Bryan and I do not tolerate well (garlic, onions, apples, etc.), so I will either gift those to a friend or use the exchange box. One week I scored an extra bunch of purple carrots (my favorites), and this past week I scored huge on these honeynut squash. I knew right away that soup would be made. While I was so excited to end up with six of these little squash, I was so shocked that someone would put them in the exchange box to begin with, but whoever you were that did that, thank you!

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Butternut squash soup is one of my favorite soups to make in the fall. It is no secret that we love Asian inspired food, with that in mind, I decided to make a Thai inspired version of my favorite soup. This has got to be one of the simplest soups to make. It has minimal ingredients and loaded with flavor. As I mentioned there are some items that we do not tolerate well (especially in larger quantities), however you may make adjustments as needed to fit your flavor preference.

Thai Honeynut Squash Soup

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Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 5 Cups Honeynut Squash 1/2 inch cubed peed fresh honeynut, butternut, kobocha squash, or pumpkin
  • 1.5 Tbs Thai Red Curry Paste
  • 2 tsp Ginger Fresh, minced
  • 3 Cups Vegetable Broth or 3 Cups water with 3 Massel Vegetable Cubes
  • 11 oz Coconut Milk (So Delicious Culinary Coconut Milk, or 14 oz canned full fat Coconut Milk)
  • 1 Tbs Lime Juice Fresh
  • 1 Tbs Cilantro Fresh
  • 1 Lime Sliced

Method of Preparation:

  1. Heat oil in large sauce pan over medium heat
  2. Add ginger and red curry paste and cook for 1 minute
  3. Add squash or pumpkin and stir to coat well
  4. Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil
  5. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes until squash is tender
  6. Turn heat off and let cook for 15 minutes
  7. Add in coconut milk and lime juice
  8. With an immersion blender, blend until smooth
    or
    Place half of the squash soup in a blender (remove the center piece of the blender cover/lid to allow steam to escape), place a clean towel over the top of the blender, and blend until smooth. Transfer to large bowl and repeat process with remaining soup
  9. Transfer back to heat and warm throughout
  10. Dived soup evenly into six bowls, top with torn cilantro leaves and lime wedges

 

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October 9, 2016 at 7:13 pm | Celiac Disease, Chef's Corner, Culinary, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Recipe, Top 8 Free, Vegan, Vegetarian | No comment

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