October 2009

If you’re not planning to celebrate All Hallow’s Eve at the level some of us are, and you need something to occupy your time while the rest of us are putting on fabulous costumes only to remove them in the presence of total strangers…here’s a new soup recipe for you!

I have held out on making butternut squash soup for a while, because butternut squash soup so very often tastes like baby food. It sounds delicious, and then it’s always just a sticky sweet Gerbery letdown. But I decided to give it another try with this recipe from my Ellie Krieger cookbook.

And…I’m glad I did! The soup is way more influenced by the curry than it is by the squash. I feel like you can’t tell what vegetable is in it, and that’s perfectly fine! If you don’t like curry and you don’t like it spicy, you may not be able to handle it! But if you’ve never had curry, then start. Like. Now.

Ingredients

1 tbsp canola oil

2 cups chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

One 2.5 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 tbsp plus 1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste

2 tbsp honey

Plain nonfat yogurt, for garnish

Method

Heat the oil over medium heat; add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened.

Add the squash, broth, curry powder, and salt, and bring it to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove the soup from heat and stir in the honey.

Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until it’s smooth (or carefully transfer to a regular blender).

Add salt to taste and garnish with yogurt before serving, if desired.

The soup is a rich brown and super fragrant. I didn’t think it was that spicy — I thought it had heat, but it didn’t make nose run, and that’s how I generally rate spice. However, my family was gasping for air. They also never eat curry so I don’t think they are fair judges of spice. But take that for what it’s worth.

I really thought the soup was great. It’s sexy and exotic. And healthy! A 1.5 cup serving has 295 calories, 6.5 g fat, 12 g protein, 56 g carbs, and 8 g fiber. It’s also a good source of calcium, folate, iron, potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin C. (And then some!! Impressive!)

The recipe made a ton, so I froze it in smaller batches to savor throughout the winter! (If you’re wondering, my freezer is quite full of soups, but I do also thaw them out regularly and enjoy the oldies/goodies.)

I don’t think it’s hearty enough for a full meal though, so you may want to make it as part of a bigger meal. I had it with a chickpea and hummus stuffed pita, and I made pork for the family in the slow cooker. (I combined 2 tbsp natural PB with 2 tbsp water, a splash of soy, and rubbed it on a pound pound of pork tenderloin, then topped with 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 tbsp ginger, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 3/4 tsp salt. Baked on high for one hour, then low for six more. Easy-peasy!)

I realized this soup is perfect if you’re craving the taste of curry but don’t want to blow your diet on Thai takeout…which I do want to do…often. This might combat that; I am enthused.

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