Well this week's weather is bumming me out, especially after a successful, snow-free weekend of tailgating. So I found a rich, creamy and nommolishish soup that will warm you up — plus the bright orange squash makes it the color of sun, so if you're feeling symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder, stare at this bowl long enough and you'll be cured.
Or move to Florida.
This is another recipe I modified slightly from my Whole Foods app, which I look through obsessively. Now that I'm trying to work more veggie-based meals into my diet, it is an easy tool that provides countless recipes. The original recipe called for 2 tsp of grated ginger, which you can add along with the curry paste and brown sugar if you have it. I didn't have any, so I just skipped it.
Definitely make sure you add the cilantro and lime to finish off this dish — the butternut squash is so creamy and rich, when it's combined with the coconut milk, it needs fresh, acidic kick to thin out the body of the soup. The shrimp also adds a salty pop to the dish.
What you're going to need:
2 tbsp canola oil
1 small white or yellow onion
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp red curry paste
1 tsp brown sugar
1 medium butternut squash, peel and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups chicken/veggie broth
1 can of coconut milk
1 lb raw shrimp, deveined and peeled
Fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish
Serve with lime wedges on the side to squeeze on
Start by heating a soup pot on the stove over medium heat, adding 2 tbsp of canola oil. Add in chopped onions and minced garlic. Sauté for five minutes, or until the onions become translucent. Add in the curry paste and the brown sugar, cooking the mixture for another minute.
Peel and chop the butternut squash and add it to the pot along with the can of coconut milk and vegetable or chicken broth, depending on how vegetarian you want to make this dish.
A note: don't be freaked out if you open up your coconut milk and it looks like it's solidified. I know I did, cursing myself for finding a bad can. Thank the cooking gods for Google — I found out all it needs is a good stir. How did people successfully cook before the Internet?
Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce it to a simmer and let it go to town for about 25 minutes.
Here's another decision that's up too you: the original recipe called to leave it chunky. In my head I pictured this soup velvety and smooth, so I blended mine up to smooth consistency and added it back to the pot for the last step.
Add in the peeled and deveined shrimp, simmering them in the smooth soup mixture for 3 or 4 minutes. Other than world war and impoverished children, overcooking seafood is THE WORST thing EVER. So don't do it, just until the shrimp a slightly pink and start to curl slightly.
Ladle your soup into a bowl and garnish with some chopped cilantro and give it a squirt of lime juice. I tried garnishing my first bowl with a little bit of cream, but it was just too much richness, so stick with the fresh, green things.
