Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Warm soup, cold day

So we've been sucked into a polar vortex here in Indianapolis and we can't seem to get up into the double digits for more than a day or so. Soup seems to be on the menu a lot. This weekend I made version of Olive Garden's zuppa toscano - a potato and kale soup with Italian sausage. I still have one bowl of that soup left. And tonight I used the butternut squash I've had stashed away into a soup.

I love butternut squash, but it's such trouble to peel and cube. I wish my local grocery store carried already cubed squash. But it does not. So I do the work myself. Anyway, I had butternut squash and I had pork loin leftover from the weekend. I decided sliced pork with a curried squash soup on the side sounded good. I had a similar soup at the Snow Lodge at Old Faithful a couple weeks ago when I went to visit my sister in Yellowstone country.

Here's what I did.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash, deseeded and cubed
1 cup coconut milk
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp garam masala
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 cup chicken broth
Cilantro for garnish

Steam butternut squash until soft, about 15-20 minutes.

In a medium pot, combine squash with coconut milk, tomato paste, spices.  Puree squash with immersion blender until ingredients are well combined. Add broth slowly until the soup is the consistency you like. (You can also use a food processor or blender to puree the mixture, then simmer.)


Over medium heat, let simmer for about 5 minutes. 

Add cilantro for garnish.  

Serves 2 bowls, or 4 cups of soup.