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curried squash soup with coconut milk
Necessity (in this case, the necessity of using up leftovers before they went bad) being the parent of invention, I made this soup last night. It turned out so well I thought I'd post about it. Since it was improvised, take the amounts and ingredients as being pretty flexible.
1 red bell pepper (red capsicum), diced
1 medium onion, preferably yellow, chopped
1 tablespoon Thai curry paste (I used Mae Ploy red curry), or to taste
2 teaspoons sugar, or to taste
A 4-5 inch piece of lemongrass, bashed a bit to release the flavors
4 or so kaffir lime leaves, rubbed to release the flavors
2 cups dashi (Japanese fish broth, which is what I had on hand) or shrimp, vegetable, or chicken broth
1/2 roasted squash (I had acorn squash, but any squash on the sweet side would do) or about 1 1/2 cups squash pulp
2/3 cup coconut milk
Fish sauce
Lime wedges
Cook the bell pepper in butter or oil until softened; remove from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, cook the onion until softened; add the curry paste and sugar and cook for another couple of minutes, until fragrant. Add the lime leaves, lemongrass, dashi or stock, and squash, and simmer very gently for about an hour. Add water as needed.
Remove the lemongrass and lime leaves. Put the soup in a blender or food processor and whirr around until fairly smooth. Return to the pan, add the red bell pepper you set aside earlier, and add the coconut milk and fish sauce to taste. Serve with rice and lime wedges.
Notes: This would be gorgeous with some shrimp or fish added. Thai basil or a combination of cilantro (aka fresh coriander) and mint would be an excellent finishing touch. Unfortunately I think it would be hard to make this soup vegetarian, because a lot of its flavor depends on the curry paste (which contains shrimp) and the fish sauce. But you could maybe try using an Indian-style curry paste instead and substituting a bit of salt for the fish sauce.
1 red bell pepper (red capsicum), diced
1 medium onion, preferably yellow, chopped
1 tablespoon Thai curry paste (I used Mae Ploy red curry), or to taste
2 teaspoons sugar, or to taste
A 4-5 inch piece of lemongrass, bashed a bit to release the flavors
4 or so kaffir lime leaves, rubbed to release the flavors
2 cups dashi (Japanese fish broth, which is what I had on hand) or shrimp, vegetable, or chicken broth
1/2 roasted squash (I had acorn squash, but any squash on the sweet side would do) or about 1 1/2 cups squash pulp
2/3 cup coconut milk
Fish sauce
Lime wedges
Cook the bell pepper in butter or oil until softened; remove from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, cook the onion until softened; add the curry paste and sugar and cook for another couple of minutes, until fragrant. Add the lime leaves, lemongrass, dashi or stock, and squash, and simmer very gently for about an hour. Add water as needed.
Remove the lemongrass and lime leaves. Put the soup in a blender or food processor and whirr around until fairly smooth. Return to the pan, add the red bell pepper you set aside earlier, and add the coconut milk and fish sauce to taste. Serve with rice and lime wedges.
Notes: This would be gorgeous with some shrimp or fish added. Thai basil or a combination of cilantro (aka fresh coriander) and mint would be an excellent finishing touch. Unfortunately I think it would be hard to make this soup vegetarian, because a lot of its flavor depends on the curry paste (which contains shrimp) and the fish sauce. But you could maybe try using an Indian-style curry paste instead and substituting a bit of salt for the fish sauce.