It’s finally soup weather! I’ve been roasting & blending pretty much any veggie I can get my hands on lately, achieving amazing depth of flavor and rich creaminess for minimal calories. Red peppers & portobello mushrooms are year-round favorites, but I’ve been craving lots of squash recently.

Roasted squash makes brilliant soup. The rich, creamy flesh caramelizes beautifully & blends thickly with no need for cream to give it body. I’m hopelessly addicted to butternut squash soup very simply seasoned with sea salt, fresh cracked pepper & a little nutmeg…I’ve been eating my most recent batch every day for the last week. I was craving something different tonight, so I turned to kabocha squash & mochi curry powder.

I first discovered kabocha in my bento box @ Tampopo, one of our weekly lunch treats. The sliver of deep orange squash was enrobed in tempura and tasted a bit like acorn squash had a tender little affair with a chestnut. I instantly fell in love. 30 minutes later, we were at Whole Foods picking up a kabocha. As much as I loved it fried, I knew I’d prefer it roasted.

Ingredients:
1 large kabocha squash
1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
3 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 teaspoons mochi curry powder
Sea salt & cracked pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash & dry squash, cut in half and scoop out the seeds (set them aside to roast for a crispy garnish for your soup). Pierce the flesh a few times with a fork, brush on melted coconut oil & season with salt & pepper.

Roast squash cut side down on a silpat-lined cookie sheet for 30-45 minutes ’til tender, flipping halves over halfway through. Your squash should be caramelized and fork-tender.

When squash is cool, scoop out flesh and place in blender. (I whipped up this recipe in my Vitamix. Any other high-speed blender will work just as well, but I get the best texture when blending vegetable soups in the Vitamix – so creamy & smooth.)

Add vegetable stock, coconut milk and curry powder & blend on High ’til completely smooth, adding small amounts of additional stock if soup is too thick. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed & garnish with toasted seeds (or pumpkin seeds if you prefer).

I loved this so much with curry, but I’m already plotting a holiday version with thyme & pan-fried sage. I think it’ll fit nicely into the traditional flavor profiles of Thanksgiving.

Try it and let me know what you think!