Thai Butternut Soup

If you haven't started making soup, it's time to get on that!!  We're having it at least once a week by now and I love it.  Soups are generally "soup-er" (haha) easy to make, take few ingredients and stretch a long way.  Plus, they can be pretty cheap as well.  This meal was literally pennies to make.  My mom gave me the squash, I used my own homemade stock and already had most of the rest of the ingredients already.   I only had to spend about $2.50 on the coconut milk and fresh lime. I also served the soup with some Artisan Bread, which is also pennies to make, which made for a delicious and very filling meal!

If you like curry even a bit, you're going to love this soup!  This is reminiscent of some of my most favorite curry dishes and so quick and easy!!


Thai Butternut Soup
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 small onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1-2 Tbsp. red curry paste
2-3 cups veggie stock
1 medium butternut squash, roasted
1 14-oz can full-fat coconut milk
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste

garnishes:
chopped cilantro
chopped peanuts or dollop of natural peanut butter
splash of fish sauce


*Do ahead.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Chop squash in quarters and rub with a little oil (I used coconut). Place on a silicone-lined baking sheet and bake until soft; about 25-30 minutes.  Cool, then scrape out the flesh and set aside.  Discard skins.

In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt coconut oil and add onion.  Saute until soft and starting to turn brown and caramelize, about 10 minutes.  Add garlic, ginger and curry paste, stir and cook another 5 minutes or so.  Add in squash and about 2 cups of the stock and increase the heat a bit.  Bring to a low bubble and simmer about 5-10 minutes. 

Use an immersion blender to puree soup, otherwise use an upright blender working in batches to puree a bit at a time.  Return puree to pot and add coconut milk, lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.  Stir until well-incorporated.  Check for seasoning and add more stock if necessary.

Serve warm.  Garnish as desired.



SOURCE:  slightly adapted from How Sweet It Is