butternut squash soup with lemongrass and red curry oil
This warming and bursting-with-flavor soup is vegan and can be spiced up to your preference
Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
2 TBS coconut oil (or other vegetable oil)
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 tsp. ground coriander seed
1 very large butternut squash (or 2 small ones), peeled, de-seeded, and cubed*
1 stalk lemongrass
1" section of fresh ginger, peeled and minced very fine
1 pint (approx.) unsalted vegetable stock/broth*
1/2 can (less if you prefer) full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk (I prefer the canned kind since it's creamier, but you can also use about 1/2 cup or more of the lighter kind that comes in cartons)
Juice of 1 lime
Sea salt to taste
Ingredients for garnish:
2 TBS virgin coconut oil
1 TBS minced ginger
2 TBS Thai red curry paste (the brand I use is Thai Taste)
Fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
Instructions:
To prepare lemongrass: remove tough, outer woody layers and discard them (or reserve for stock). Chop off the dry, wispy tops and root end. What you should be left with is a long core that is still relatively tough but feels slightly damp and alive. Put this on a cutting board and with the blunt side of a large knife's blade, pound the lemongrass up and down on all sides to tenderize it. Now, with the sharp side of the blade, mince the lemongrass finely.
In a large sturdy saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat and add the onion and ground coriander, and a sprinkle of salt. Stirring occasionally, sauté for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is slightly translucent (do not brown). Add the squash and minced lemongrass and stir around a couple of times, then pour in enough stock to reach halfway up the vegetables. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer and cover.
Meanwhile, make the red curry oil. In a small skillet, heat up the coconut oil for a few minutes. Add the ginger, sizzling briefly, then add the red curry paste. Cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes to bring the flavors up. At this point, add a few drops of water until the consistency is liquid (drizzle-able) but not watery. Reserve in the pan until you're ready to serve the soup.
Simmer squash mixture for about 25-30 minutes total, checking occasionally. Stir in ginger after about 20 minutes. The vegetables are ready when the squash is soft and yielding when pierced with a knife, but not mushy.
In a blender, whir the vegetables and their liquid until they are velvety smooth with no lumps (do this in batches if it won't all fit in the blender at once—you can mix it together in the pot afterwards). Add the lime juice and 1/2 cup coconut milk at first (stir if separated), taste, then add more if you like. Rinse out the pot you used for cooking, then add back the blended soup and turn heat to low, adding more stock or water if it seems too thick. Important: now taste and add salt bit by bit until the flavors are where you want them. Everyone's tastes are different and the ingredients vary!
Serve soup hot in bowls, then swirl in red curry oil and scatter with cilantro leaves if desired. Offer extra garnishes at the table.
*Stock-making tip: You can make your own vegetable stock using the squash peels and seeds as a base. Put these in a medium pot along with the following: discarded lemongrass husks, a small chopped onion and/or leek, a smashed garlic clove, chopped celery or fennel, a chopped carrot, a bay leaf, a few peppercorns, and a strip of kombu (aka kelp - if you don't have it, that's fine!). Add just enough water to cover and simmer for about an hour.