Flutterby™! : Squash soup 2005-10-28 14:41:55.320833+00

Squash soup

2005-10-28 14:41:55.320833+00 by Dan Lyke 9 comments

Made up this squash soup recipe with a few changes based on what I had on hand:

1 Tb dark sesame oil

2 small yellow onions diced

3 stalks celery chopped

Heat a large pan, start sautéing the onions & celery

2 t coriander seeds

1 t cumin seeds

4 cloves

In a dry skillet, toast the coriander and cumin seeds, toss in the cloves toward the end. Take out and grind in a mortar and pestle until it's powder
2 bay leaves

1 thumb's worth fresh ginger minced

1 Tb cinnamon ground

1/4 t cardamom ground

Add these to the onion and celery, which by now should have put out enough liquid to not burn the powdered spices. Let cook a short time, then add

2 1/2 lbs acorn squash squash peeled, seeded and chopped

4 cups chicken stock

1 t dried lemon grass

This would have been much better had we had a stalk of fresh lemon grass

1/4 cup dried coconut

1/2 cup whole milk

A substitute for coconut milk (how can I not have coconut milk in my cupboard? Must rectify!). Toss in the blender and run for a while

1/4 t lemon oil

A substitute for not having the fresh limes. When I first tossed this in I thought it was an excessive amount, but it was almost too subtle in the final mix, so don't add this and the coconut milk until the squash and celery are soft.

Toss in a blender and puree all of the ingredients to date. Serve with:

1 Tb fresh basil chopped

1 Tb fresh mint chopped

I think adding the juice from fresh limes rather than the lemon oil at serving time would really kick it up a notch, and I'd like to try it again without the chicken stock, as I think that there are enough subtleties of lighter flavors in here that it doesn't need that huge kick of umami in the bottom notes.

Wow! Thanks. I've been looking for another good squash soup recipe. I will do this without the chicken stock and will sub soy, almond or rice milk for the whole milk. What about coconut milk?

I'd drop the whole milk and the shredded coconut and replace it with coconut milk. That was just an "oh crap, I don't have any cans in the cupboard, what can I do instead" move.

The lemony overtones work rather nicely. If you're cutting out the chicken stock the celery quantity might be right, but another move would be dropping back to just a stalk or two of celery.

I think we'll end up doing it again with those variations soon. Rainy season has arrived, and it's soup weather.

#Comment Re: made: 2005-10-28 20:30:32.753981+00 by: ebradway [edit history]

Throw the cubed squash and red lentils in a large soup pot with 5 cups of water. Cook until the squash is squishy and the lentils start to disintegrate. Puree this into a creamy base for your soup using a blender or food processor. Pour it back in the large soup pot when pureed (it may take two batches unless you have a really big blender).

Saute the onions, garlic and celery (in the oil, of course) in a skillet until tender, then add to the soup base. Stir in the spices. Squeeze in the lemon juice. Heat to simmer. Add the tomato and soymilk, simmering for another 10 minutes or so. Viola!

Re: chicken stock. - Have used 'vegetable stock' as a replacement for chicken stock when trying to cook 'vegetarian'. Found it in the alternative foods section at the grocery store and like the taste and feel it gives dishes... and yes, I know how to make it as well, but often I'm only cooking for 2 and this works well for small batches.

I use the stock (veggie or chicken) in boxes, and freeze it when I don't use the full amount. I've also been known to make ice cubes from coconut milk and transfer those to a plastic bag for when I don't use a whole can.

I'm "sensitive" (in an unpleasant way) to coconut milk, and you just go on talking about it, waaah. Pout.

Diane: Are you sensitive to young coconut milk or flesh as well? Or are you so sensitive that you don't even want to test it?

I tend not to be sensitive to coconut meat/flesh (unless eaten in vast quantities), but the results within the hour after I've eaten something containing coconut milk are so unpleasant that I've given up trying. (And I'm so vigilant about it that I even found myself last Thurs. asking my dentist if the "pina colada flavored numbing agent" he was about to use on my gums had any coconut milk in it. Silly me.)

Is there something different about "young" coconut milk that renders it different from "normal" (?) coconut milk? I haven't heard about this before, but am eager to learn.

I belive that "young coconut milk" comes from unripe coconuts in which the flesh hasn't solidified into flesh. When I've had this at a Thai restaurant, the juice inside the coconut is thick and creamy, not pale and watery, and the flesh of the coconut is soft enoug hthat you can cut it from the husk with the end of the straw and suck all that smooth fatty goodness up through said straw.

I believe that the coconut milk that you buy in cans has been extracted from the meat of older coconuts. In some of the cookbooks I've read they talk about making your own with grated coconut, milk and cheesecloth.

I think what Eric's suggesting is that you might be having a reaction to something introduced during that extraction process, and if you substituted the pureed flesh of young coconuts (how's that for a Halloween inspired image?) you might have a rich, tasty, and non-reactive meal.

1 Tb	dark sesame oil
2	small yellow onions	diced
3 stalks	celery	chopped
Heat a large pan, start sautéing the onions & celery
2 t	coriander seeds
1 t	cumin seeds
4	cloves
In a dry skillet, toast the coriander and cumin seeds, toss in the cloves toward the end. Take out and grind in a mortar and pestle until it's powder
2	bay leaves
1 thumb's worth	fresh ginger	minced
1 Tb	cinnamon	ground
1/4 t	cardamom	ground
Add these to the onion and celery, which by now should have put out enough liquid to not burn the powdered spices. Let cook a short time, then add
2 1/2 lbs	acorn squash squash	peeled, seeded and chopped
4 cups	chicken stock
1 t	dried lemon grass
This would have been much better had we had a stalk of fresh lemon grass
1/4 cup	dried coconut
1/2 cup	whole milk
A substitute for coconut milk (how can I not have coconut milk in my cupboard? Must rectify!). Toss in the blender and run for a while
1/4 t	lemon oil
A substitute for not having the fresh limes. When I first tossed this in I thought it was an excessive amount, but it was almost too subtle in the final mix, so don't add this and the coconut milk until the squash and celery are soft. Toss in a blender and puree all of the ingredients to date. Serve with:
1 Tb	fresh basil	chopped
1 Tb	fresh mint	chopped