Coconut Squash Soup with Red Pepper Purée
Monday January 28, 2013
Have you ever had a movie-moment?
I totally had a Cinderella moment. Sans handsome prince. It was actually more embarrassing than cute.
I was running across a busy intersection in Toronto (the light had just turned yellow) and I thought I could make it because I ran track in high school and it obviously prepared me for this moment.
As I reached the middle of the intersection, my shoe went flying off my foot about 10 feet in the air and landed behind me.
Great. How embarrassing. Here I am in the middle of Yonge St with one shoe and a bare foot. I’m probably going to step on glass, get sepsis and die.
Or get hit by a car…
I had to sheepishly run back, grab my shoe, wave my hands in apology at the pile up of traffic that I was causing and continue on my merry way.
While I totally felt like Cinderelly, I definitely was NOT as graceful… and my prince didn’t come to my rescue.
Actually… I would hate it for a man to find a shoe that I wore with bare feet after a night of dancing. That would certainly break the romance. Pee-yew.
And not to mention my feet are more similar in size to her evil stepsisters. They resemble tug-boats. It’s a wonder that I can’t walk on water.
If that movie taught me anything its men obviously don’t want a girl with boat-feet.
Hopefully I can astound them with my cooking… And feed them this delicious soup.
Coconut, squash and cauliflower soup is paired with a delectable red pepper purée. Perfect soup to distract men from anything you want to hide.
Recipe: Coconut Squash Soup with Red Pepper Purée
Serves ~6-8
Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
1 small butternut squash, halved and seeded
1 small leek chopped (optional)
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp curry powder
2-3 tsp grated ginger
4-5 cups chicken broth or combination of broth and water)
salt and pepper to taste
nutmeg to taste (1/8 tsp)
1 cup coconut milk
Roasted Red Pepper Purée
1/2 a large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
3 red peppers (roasted and skinned/seeded)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp salt
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds:
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp curry powder
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
* thin out with chicken broth as needed
Method:
Coconut Squash Soup: Halve squash length-wise and scoop out seeds. Peel both halves and cut into cubes.
Sauté onions, garlic and ginger in a large pot over medium heat until tender (5 min). Add the cubed squash. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for ~30 minutes, or until squash is tender.
Let cool slightly and purée soup in batches in a food processer until smooth. Stir in the coconut milk. Adjust spice with salt, pepper and nutmeg. If you want a smoother soup, you can pass the purée through a fine mesh sieve to remove all lumps.
Red Pepper Purée: Cook roasted red peppers with onion and garlic in a small saucepan until onions are tender. Purée until smooth.
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds: Toss the seeds with the olive oil and spices. Bake at 350 degrees for ~6 minutes or until fragrant.
Serve: Top bowls of soup with a swirl of the roasted red pepper purée and garnish with roasted seeds.
------------------------------------------------------------
Please add a comment!
blog comments powered by Disqus
1 small butternut squash, halved and seeded
1 small leek chopped (optional)
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp curry powder
2-3 tsp grated ginger
4-5 cups chicken broth or combination of broth and water)
salt and pepper to taste
nutmeg to taste (1/8 tsp)
1 cup coconut milk
Roasted Red Pepper Purée
1/2 a large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
3 red peppers (roasted and skinned/seeded)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp salt
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds:
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp curry powder
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
* thin out with chicken broth as needed
Sauté onions, garlic and ginger in a large pot over medium heat until tender (5 min). Add the cubed squash. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for ~30 minutes, or until squash is tender.
Let cool slightly and purée soup in batches in a food processer until smooth. Stir in the coconut milk. Adjust spice with salt, pepper and nutmeg. If you want a smoother soup, you can pass the purée through a fine mesh sieve to remove all lumps.
Red Pepper Purée: Cook roasted red peppers with onion and garlic in a small saucepan until onions are tender. Purée until smooth.
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds: Toss the seeds with the olive oil and spices. Bake at 350 degrees for ~6 minutes or until fragrant.
Serve: Top bowls of soup with a swirl of the roasted red pepper purée and garnish with roasted seeds.
------------------------------------------------------------
