Curry Butternut Soup

Here's a quick one. Not much story behind it other than I got the recipe from.....

Delicious Disney.

I love soups. I love creamy soups. I especially love squashy creamy soups...and that's why I chose it.

If you can purchase (and eat) Thai Red Curry Paste, then this soup recipe will be a lot quicker than how I made it. Thai Red Curry Paste contains fish sauce and shrimp sauce, which I can't eat. In this case, I made my own. A vegan version. It was easy enough and the ingredients were simple enough but there are a lot of ingredients which made the soup making process longer than it could've been. I'll give you the recipe for the Thai Red Curry Paste at the end.

This soup is delicious. The flavors are strong and subtle at the same time. Smooth yet lasting. Rich and comforting. Each bite brings out a new dimension. I'm eating a bowl of leftovers as I type and the flavors really pop after mingling for a day or two.

Curry Butternut Soup
Printable Version

2 TB butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
Juice from 2 lemons
2 tsp Thai red curry paste
1 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
2 cups vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups milk
4 TB sour cream
Fried wonton strips, cilantro and pickled ginger to garnish (optional)

In a large, heavy bottomed pot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until tender (about 5 minutes).

Stir in the cumin, coriander, lemon juice and curry paste. Add the squash and vegetable stock. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for about 20 minutes or until the squash is fork tender.

Puree with an immersion blender, or in batches in a blender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Return to heat. Stir in the milk and sour cream and heat through without boiling.

Garnish with fried wonton strips, cilantro and pickled ginger.

That simple....and that good!

When reheating, I added a little bit of coconut milk to thin it out....mmmm.

Vegan Thai Red Curry Paste
Inspired by: Thai Food

1 shallot, chopped
2-3 tsp chili sauce
4 garlic cloves
1 thumb sized chunk of fresh ginger, sliced
2 TB ketchup or tomato paste
1 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp pepper
2 TB soy sauce
1 TB Thai Golden Mountain Sauce *
1 tsp sugar
2 TB chili powder
3 TB thick coconut milk
2 TB lime juice

Combine all ingredients and puree.

*I couldn't find Thai Golden Mountain Sauce so I mixed 2 TB soy sauce, 2 TB vegetable stock and 1/4 tsp sugar. (yes, all that and I only used 1 TB of the stuff).

Since I've never tasted real Thai Red Curry Paste, I do not have a comparison as to how close of a substitute this is. All I can say is that the flavor is fantastic!

I'm entering this in the Souper Sunday round-up at Deb's place Kahakai Kitchen Head on over there and see what wonderful soups, salads and sandwiches she's gathered