Winter Squash Curry Soup
Where we live, it doesn’t get truly cold all that often— we’ll get freezing temperatures for a week here and there throughout the winter, but in between there are long stretches of disconcertingly warm weather. We’ve learned to cherish the chilly days, not because we particularly like the cold, but because enjoying cozy soup and bread after a miserably cold day is more or less the peak of the human experience. This recipe is one of our go-tos for those nights, a soup that combines hearty winter squash with warm spices to create a meal that will fill you up and keep you warm.
This soup draws heavily on Thai red curry to create a warming, comforting flavor profile, but also incorporates ingredients like miso to help add in the umami and depth of flavor that can sometimes be missing from vegetarian soups. We tend to like our food spicy, so we’ve included a range of how much curry paste and Thai red pepper flakes to use so it can be adjusted for different tastes— but for most people, the spice level in this dish should be more “warming” than “five alarm fire.” The seeds of the squash can optionally be roasted into a crunchy garnish that perfectly compliments the creamy texture of the soup. It acts as a complete meal by itself, but for best results we recommend serving this soup alongside your favorite homemade bread.
Ingredients
- 4 lbs winter squash (such as acorn, butternut, or kabocha)
- 1 14oz can coconut cream
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 lime
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 3 medium carrots
- 1 medium onion
- 1.5 tbsp ginger
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp miso
- 3-4 tbsp vegetarian Thai red curry paste, depending on desired spiciness
- 1/4 tsp to 1 tsp Thai red pepper flakes, depending on desired spiciness
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander seed
Optional Ingredients for Roasted Squash Seeds
- 1 tbsp of vegetable oil, canola oil, or another neutral oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp Thai red pepper flakes
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400F, and get a baking sheet ready.
Roast the Squash
For this recipe we chose a kabocha squash, but any winter squash should work. We've also tested this with acorn squash and the resulting flavor and texture were similar and tasty. The only major difference you will notice is the color of the soup, which depends on the color of the squash flesh.
Cut the squash in half through the stem. *This step can be difficult/dangerous and requires decent dexterity and confidence with a knife. You can poke small holes in the skin of the squash using a fork and then microwave it for 1 minute to make it softer and easier to cut. You can also buy already-split squash at a lot of grocery stores, or even already-cubed butternut squash if you're having trouble.
Scoop out the squash seeds and stringy bits of flesh using a spoon. If you would like to follow the optional directions for roasting the seeds later in the recipe, scoop them into a large bowl and set aside.
After the seeds are removed, rub the squash halves with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Place the squash halves face down on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and put in the oven to roast for 20-30 minutes. Larger squash may take 30-40 minutes. You want the inside flesh to be soft enough to puncture easily with a fork and lightly brown in places, but not burned. Once the squash is done, turn it face up so it cools faster.
While the squash is roasting and cooling, you can move on to the next steps.
Roast the Seeds (Optional)
The squash seeds can be roasted to make a tasty snack or to be used as a topping for the soup. The seeds will give the soup a nice textural contrast and visual interest, but aren’t necessary. You could also buy pre-roasted seeds or use something else, like roasted chickpeas or cashews, to achieve a similar effect.
Clean seeds in a bowl of water. *This step can be a potential sensory issue. The seeds and flesh are pretty squishy and slimy, it’s a little tedious, and it requires decent hand dexterity. Once you've removed as much of the flesh as you can with your hands, transfer the seeds to a mesh strainer and rinse as you massage the seeds. The texture of the strainer will help scrape off any bits of squash that remain.
Once the seeds are completely clean, dry them on a towel.
Once dry, toss the seeds in vegetable oil, soy sauce, and Thai red pepper flakes. Spread them out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and roast the seeds at 300F for 15-20 minutes. Use a spatula to toss them about halfway through.
When they’re done, they’ll be browned (dark brown in some places), but shouldn’t look or smell burned.
Prep the other Veggies
Roughly dice the onion and carrots into bite-sized pieces.
Roughly chop the cilantro. It's important to remove the thick portions of the stems, but you don’t need to worry about pulling individual leaves off the stalks.
Zest and juice the lime.
Grate the garlic and ginger using a zester or fine grater. You can substitute squeeze ginger/garlic or jarred garlic, or even garlic powder. Fresh garlic has a more potent, floral flavor than pre-chopped stuff, but the overall dish will still taste great.
Saute Veggies
Add 1-2 tbsp of a neutral oil to a large pot and sauté the onions and carrots until the carrots are tender enough to be pierced with a fork. I like to let the onions brown a little and form a fond on the bottom of the pot.
Add the garlic, ginger, and red curry paste, and cook for another minute or two to let the aromatics wake up. Once that's done add a splash of vegetable broth to the pot to deglaze it.
Blend
If you’re using a standalone blender, scoop the squash out of the skin and into the carafe along with the vegetable broth, cilantro, onions, and carrots. If you want the soup to be chunky, you can leave the onions and carrots out of the blender. Blend until you achieve a relatively smooth texture.
If you’re using an immersion blender, add the squash and veggie broth to the pot with the onions and carrots and and blend. If you want chunky soup, blend your squash and veggie broth in a separate pot.
If you’re using a potato masher, add the squash to the pot, then add enough veggie broth to cover. Smoosh everything together with the masher, then add the rest of the veggie broth and stir into a soup. Obviously, you will definitely get a chunkier, less smooth soup using this method, but we've all been in college without a decent blender.
Finish the Soup
Transfer the blended ingredients back to the original pot.
Stir in the coconut cream, miso paste, lime zest, lime juice, spices, and salt to taste. Heat over medium-low heat until warmed through. It is important to not let the soup heat up to a boil at this point or it will impact the flavor of the miso.
Serve
Serve in a bowl alongside your favorite bread. For garnish add a handful of roasted squash seeds, a sprinkle of Thai red pepper flakes, and a swirl of leftover coconut cream if you’re feeling fancy.
Winter Squash Curry Soup
Prep: 1 hour | Cook: 50 minutes | Total: 1 hour 50 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 lbs winter squash (such as acorn, butternut, or kabocha)
- 1 14oz can coconut cream
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 lime
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 3 medium carrots
- 1 medium sweet or yellow onion
- 1.5 tbsp ginger
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp white miso paste
- 3-4 tbsp vegetarian Thai red curry paste
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp to 1 tsp Thai red pepper flakes depending on desired spiciness
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander seed
Optional Ingredients for Roasted Squash Seeds
- 1 tbsp of vegetable oil, canola oil, or another neutral oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp Thai red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Cut the squash in half through the stem.
- Scoop out the squash seeds with a spoon. If you plan on roasting the seeds, scoop them into a bowl.
- Rub the squash halves with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Place the squash halves face down on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and put in the oven to roast for 20-30 minutes at 400F. Once done, lay face up to cool.
- (Optional) Clean the squash seeds in a bowl of water then rinse and massage using a mesh strainer to remove any remaining flesh.
- (Optional) Toss the squash seeds in vegetable oil, soy sauce, and Thai red pepper flakes.
- (Optional) Spread the squash seeds on a parchment paper lined baking sheed. Roast for 15-20 minutes at 300F, tossing with a spatula half way through.
- Roughly dice the onion and carrots into bite sized pieces.
- Roughly chop the cilantro.
- Grate the garlic and ginger using a zester or fine grater.
- Zest and juice the lime.
- Add oil to a large pot and sauté the onions and carrots until the carrots are tender enough to be pierced with a fork.
- Add the garlic, ginger, and red curry paste, and cook for another minute or two.
- Scoop the squash out of the skin and blend it with the vegetable broth. Optionally blend in the carrots and onions as well for a smoother soup.
- Transfer the blended ingredients back into the original pot.
- Stir in the coconut cream and miso paste then heat over medium-low heat until warmed through.
- Finally, mix in the lime zest, lime juice, and spices.