Thai Butternut Squash Soup

Karen was intrigued by this soup when she saw it in Family Circle magazine, and we all gave it a thumbs up after our maiden voyage.  You can find more information at Recipe.com, and while they garnish their version of the soup beautifully for their studio photo, we present here the ungarnished, photographed-in-the-dining-room, made-in-Illinois version.  As always, we made some modifications to the recipe, which are noted at the end of this post.  We found this soup to be very tasty, and unmistakably Thai, with just enough spicy heat to make your nose run.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1 piece fresh ginger (1 to 2 inches), peeled and grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp red curry paste
1 can (14.5 ounces) coconut milk
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 lime, juiced (about 3 tablespoons)
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup unsalted peanuts, chopped
1/3 cup sliced scallions
3 whole wheat pitas or flatbreads, halved

Heat oil in a large, lidded pot over medium heat.  Add onion and saute until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add ginger and garlic and cook 1 minute.  Stir in curry paste and cook another minute.

Pour in coconut milk and chicken broth; stir well to break up the curry paste.  Add squash, bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer.  Cover partially and cook 15 to 20 minutes or until the squash is tender.

Puree soup with an immersion blender until smooth.  Stir in lime juice and salt.  Serve with peanuts, scallions, and bread.

Riggenbach alterations to the recipe: (1) Karen sauteed the onions in a dry pan without the olive oil; (2) she also omitted the lime juice, and (3) used a regular blender instead of an immersion blender for the puree step. (4) The peanuts and scallions are simply a garnish, so we omitted those, and (5) we substituted bread we had in the house for the pitas they list at the bottom of the ingredient list.

Thanks LauraLee for the motivation to try new recipes!