This is the perfect soup for those months in fall and spring when you think it’s still a little too warm for soup season, but you nonetheless need something warm and comforting. We served it at our end of summer party on one of the last warm evenings of September. Curry Squash Soup will warm you up just enough, like the soup equivalent of a light jacket or sweater.
The History of Curry
The word “curry” comes from the Tamil word kari, which means “sauce.” Scholars think people started eating it around 2500 BCE in Pakistan, making it older than Christianity, much older than the United States, and more venerable than most other types of food. It’s “spiced meat, fish or vegetable stew,” as defined by Colleen Sen in her book Curry: A Global History, but from there, there are countless variations.
Whether it’s Japanese curry rice, Trinidadian curry goat, or Thai pumpkin curry, people around the world enjoy it. It has earned a place in many cooking traditions in part because of Silk Road trade routes linking Asian, Middle Eastern, and European cultures together. Spice made up a valuable and fascinating part of Silk Road commerce. Later, British colonization of the Indian subcontinent brought curry to the Caribbean and Europe. Indian traders and residents strongly influenced the cuisine of East Africa, the Indonesian archipelago, and Indochina.
Many cultures shaped curry dishes to suit their own tastes, and honestly, we love it in ALL its forms. With this Curry Squash Soup, you can enjoy a vegan dish that strikes a balance between simple techniques and inventive ingredients.
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Curry Squash Soup
Description
A soup for the end of the summer.
Ingredients
Scale
For the soup:
- 1 butternut squash, or 3 acorn squash
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 ea Spanish onions, julienned
- 6 ea garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 ea fennel bulb, rough chopped
- 2 tbsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp coriander, toasted whole
- 2 cup vegetable stock
- 16 oz coconut milk
- 2 tbsp orange zest
- 1 cup scallions, cut on bias, soaked in ice water
- 1 cup cilantro leaves, picked-off stem
For the coriander crème
- 1 cup crème fraiche or sour cream
- 1 tbsp coriander, toasted and crushed
- 1 lime, zested and juiced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
Pepita Brittle
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup pepita, un-toasted
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp sea salt
Instructions
For the curry squash soup:
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Split squash length wise and place cut side down on a foil wrapped sheet tray.
- Rub the outer skin with oil and season with salt and black pepper.
- Roast for 45 minutes or until tender to the touch. The skin will become hard like a shell.
- Flip the squash over on the sheet tray and allow to cool while preparing the remaining ingredients.
- In a separate pot over medium-high heat add the remaining olive oil, onions, fennel, garlic and spices.
- Allow onions and fennel to lightly caramelized, golden color.
- Scoop the squash from the skin and add to the onion mixture. Add the vegetable stock and remaining ingredients.
- Stir mixture to fully incorporate ingredients.
- Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Stir to keep ingredients from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Turn heat off and purée soup using an immersion blender, purée until smooth. If the soup is thickening too much, add small amounts of vegetable stock at a time until you reach a smooth light consistency.
- Season with additional salt as needed.
For the coriander crème:
- Combine all ingredients and mix throughly until homogenous.
- Reserve for plating.
For the pepita brittle:
- In a heavy bottom sauce pot on medium-high heat, add the sugar and water. Mix until all sugar is wet. Place over heat and allow to cook, without touching it, until the bottom begins to caramelize.
- Gently add pepita and spices.
- Turn to low heat and allow to cook for 8 minutes until the temperature reaches 300 degrees. Stir to keep seeds from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Allow mixture to cool for 2 minutes.
- Pour onto a parchment lined sheet tray. It may help to lightly oil the parchment paper, or use a non-stick baking mat.
- Allow brittle to cool completely. Break into bite size pieces. Keep remaining brittle in an airtight container at room temperature for futurist snacking. You may want to make extra just for snacking.
For plating:
- Pour 8 oz of soup in your cup.
- Add a dollop of coriander crème, top with brittle bites.
- Garnish with cilantro leaves and cut scallions
Recipe by Kevin Hermann
Photography by Dave Bryce
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