Roasted Kombocha Squash Curry Soup

NEW YEAR, SAME ME. THAT’S RIGHT. STILL COOKING UP A STORM HERE AND MAKING NEW RECIPES ON THE REGULAR.

Only I guess as I get older, I am getting spicier. What I mean is, I literally am using more spices in my cooking and getting more particular with the quality of spices that I keep in my drawer. Relax… what did you think that I built some crazy S&M closet in my house? No. Not that kind of spicy. But to each their own.

This soup is great because you just need a few sheet pans and a blender and you’re good to go. You could make this squash soup by roasting the squash (or pumpkin if you have instead) on a sheet tray while sautéing onions and red peppers on the stovetop before combining it all with stock and blending it…. but who really wants to do that? It’s tedious compared with tossing everything into the oven, roasting it all, then blending.

If you want to make this a step easier, you can roast all of your vegetables in an oven-safe pot and then with an immersion blender, blend everything with veggie broth directly in the same pot.

Does your veg cook more unevenly this way? Yes. But I think I like that even better. Some of your onions come out sweet while others are more caramelized, making the flavors a bit more complex overall.

As the days get shorter and shorter, I just want something to warm up with after a long day. Well, you know I am just looking for any excuse to eat soup, really. Hot or cold out, I don’t care. Soup is the best!

Let me know what you think of this one. Have you ever tried kombocha squash? Let’s get wild this year and branch out with our produce!

Roasted Kombocha Squash Curry Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

• 1 white medium onion, diced

• 3 bell peppers (I used red, yellow and green, but any colors work), diced

• 1.5 lb kombocha squash, cut into 6 thin wedges. and peeled

• 2 teaspoons salt Kosher salt, plus more to taste

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste

• 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

• Small pinch cinnamon

• 4 cups vegetable stock

• 1 cup full fat coconut milk

• Salt and Pepper to taste

• Peanuts and Scallions, for garnish (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line two baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.

2. Slice the squash in half. Using a spoon, discard the seeds from kabocha squash and cut into 6 thin wedges. Remove the skin and cut into small equal-size cubes. (Optionally, you can remove the skin after roasting the squash).

3. Place the pieces of squash on one baking sheet and the diced onion and peppers on another. Drizzle each parchment paper lined baking sheet with veggies with 1 TBS of Extra Virgin olive oil each and season with salt and pepper.

4. Roast for 20-25 minutes, or until the squash is mushy to the touch. Toss the veggies half way through the roasting process so they get evenly cooked.

5. Once the vegetables are done roasting, add the squash flesh (removing the skins and discarding) and add the spices with a few extra twists of freshly ground black pepper and a nice pinch of salt into your blender. Pour in the broth and the coconut milk and blend.

6. Move your soup to a pot if you are ready to eat, heat it up and enjoy! I used scallions and peanuts as my garnish because I like a little crunch, but you can also sprinkle pepitas over the soup and serve. Let leftover soup cool completely before transferring it to a proper storage container and refrigerating it for up to 4 days (leftovers taste even better the next day!). Or, freeze this soup for up to 3 months.
   
   Notes: I dry toast my spices over the stove top in my stainless steel pan before I add them to the blender to enhance their flavors. It’s not a must if you don’t want to wash another pan, but I think it makes a difference and the pan isn’t a pain to wash after this at all.