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Butternut
Squash & Pear Curry Soup
This
vegan soup recipe is a great "flu buster" kind
of meal, as this butternut squash soup is full
of vitamins A & C, contains such immune system-enhancing
ingredients as onion and garlic, and has a flavor because of
the curry that you can taste even through a cold! I've tried
out many a butternut squash soup recipe in my day, but this
one is the one I've settled on as my favorite. Colorful and
with a distinctive 100% delicious taste, this particular butternut
squash soup recipe is always a favorite at all my fall and
winter parties, a regular at all my Halloween party feasts & a
Thanksgiving recipe I just couldn't imagine doing without.
And neither could most of my friends who were gravely disappointed
the one year I didn't make it. As such, and given how easy
it is to make, it might just hold the title of "My
Most Requested Recipe," which is saying a
lot given how many delicious gourmet recipes I use at my parties!
Put
butternut squash face down in a glass baking dish
in 3/4 inch of water,
cover with wax paper, and cook in microwave on HIGH
for 15 minutes. (I usually cut up other ingredients. measure
spices, etc. while this is going on). When it's done, if
it seems soft, let it cool. (you want it pretty soft but
not shriveling up)
Saute
onions in oil on medium heat for about 3 minutes (until
golden). Add garlic, curry, cumin and sugar
and mush around for another 30-45 seconds. Peel off outer
rind of squash and add orange flesh into pot, along with
pear pieces and broth.
Simmer for 10 minutes to let flavors mix.
Let
cool enough so you don't burn yourself, then puree mixture
in blender or Vitamix (my
preference for just about everything!) until smooth. Then,
all that's left to do it enjoy the fabulous fall harvest
taste of one of the most unique soup recipes I think you'll
ever find!
REALLY
short on time, or hate peeling squash like I do?
Try
this cheat.
Instead
of the broth & the squash combo, use 1 1/2 boxes of
pre-made butternut squash soup from a company like Imagine
or Pacific. Just saute a small onion instead of a a larger
one, and everything else is the same from those instructions
onward.
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Ingredients
1
1/2 lbs butternut squash, seeds scooped out, cut in 1/2
lengthwise
4-5 ripe Bartlett pears (yellow or red when ripe, not green),
peeled, cored and cut in small pieces
medium onion, diced
large garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp each curry* & brown sugar
1 tsp ground cumin
6 cups veg broth or No-Chicken Broth. (you can also use
chicken broth but then the soup is no longer vegan)
Serves
6
NOTE:
*East Indian curry, which has more of a
reddish tone hue than a yellow hue is what I prefer. I
can no longer get my preferred kind, so I use Spice Hunter
Salt-Free Curry Seasoning and add a dash each of cinnamon,
nutmeg & cardamom to get the flavor of the now defunct
East Indain variety I used to get. I suggest you experiment
with different blends of curry to see which ones you like
the best. Using a different curry totally affects the flavor
of the soup. I have also tried a version of this with Granny
Smith apples, and also tried subbing in other pears, and
came to the conclusion that the Bartletts add a more distinct
and interesting flavor.
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