Butternut Squash Soup w/ Coconut, Curry + Chili Crisp
It’s the end of summer, and I have a whole lot of squash on my hands. I wanted to make a butternut squash soup. But instead of leaning into the natural sweetness of the squash with the quintessential thick, rich, creamy, sweet flavours with maple soaked croutons (which is delicious, I won’t deny), I wanted to do a slightly lighter, more savoury version. This recipe involves oven roasted squash, chicken broth, and coconut milk, seasoned with a tone of aromatics + spices, and topped with all the good savoury things like hot chili crisp, toasted garlic chips, cilantro and seeds for some texture and bonus nutrition. I will add some rough notes below, but overall its just a taste as you go kind of situation (as usual with me); if you like it with more spice, add more spices, if you like it thicker, go lighter on the broth. It’s a choose your own adventure, with a rough base to work from. I also served this dish with a scoop of already cooked leftover rice and poured the soup right over top; it gave it a little extra filling for a dinner serving, but that is completely optional.
Thankfully my basement shelves are stacked full of this summer’s butternut squash from the garden, so I’ll be making this one a few times this winter!
Butternut Squash Soup w/ Coconut, Curry + Chili Crisp
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash, cut in half, de-seeded
- 1 inch knob ginger, roughly chopped
- 5 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
- 3 stalks lemongrass, roughly chopped
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 2 Tbsp neutral oil
- 1 tsp yellow curry powder, adjust to taste
- 1/2 tsp tumeric, adjust to taste
- 1/4 tsp garam masala, adjust to taste
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin, adjust to taste
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 3 cups bone broth (I used chicken broth I had pre-made and frozen)
- 1 can coconut milk
- salt to taste
Vital Garnishes
- cilantro
- sesame seeds
- pumpkin seeds
- toasted garlic chips
- chili crisp
Method
1. Roast the halved, de-seeded butternut squash on a tray in the oven at 425*F for 30 minutes or until soft. When finished, allow to cool enough to work with, scoop the flesh from the skin with a spoon and set aside. I actually did this step the night before and stored it in my fridge overnight so it was just ready to go when I wanted to make the soup.
2. Chop the garlic, ginger, lemongrass. Transfer to mortar and pestle, and work into a paste.
3. Heat the neutral oil in a skillet, add your onions and sauté until aromatic and almost translucent. Add the garlic, ginger, lemongrass paste + spices, continue to sauté for a few minutes. Add the butternut squash puree, mix well and continue to cook for a few minutes.
4. Transfer the mixture to a blender, add the bone broth and mix on high power until ultra fine and smooth. Transfer back to your soup pot.
5. Add the coconut milk, stir well to combine, and bring to a gentle boil. Once boiling, turn the stove down to a simmer and allow to gently cook for 20 - 30 minutes. Add salt to taste.
6. Serve the soup hot, and top with your garnishes. The garnishes are integral to this dish, so don’t skimp! The more chili crisp the better in my opinion. If you are doing any seed cycling, you can sub out the pumpkin seeds for sunflower seeds, depending on where you are at.
Enjoy!
