Monday, February 15, 2010

Butternut Squash Soup

ORIGINAL RECIPE
1 medium onion
3 TPSP butter
2 tsp red curry powder
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 14oz. can chicken broth
1 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 lb. butternut squash
1 14oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 c. half n' half or light cream
1/3 c. fresh cilantro

1. Cook onions in hot butter over medium heat about 10 minutes or until tender and translucent. Stir in curry powder, ginger and salt. Cook 30 seconds more.
2. Stir in chicken broth and water; bring to boiling. Add squash. Return to boiling. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered 40 minutes or until squash is tender.
3. Cool soup slightly. Transfer half the soup at a time to a blender or food processor. Blend or process until smooth. Return all soup to saucepan. Stir in coconut milk, half and half, and chopped cilantro. Heat through. Top with fresh cilantro. Makes 6 side-dish servings.

So, this soup sounds delicious, right? I changed a few things to make it an everyday soup instead of a special occasion soup. Meaning, I don't like to add half n' half and coconut milk to my lunch when I'm trying to lose weight! I also just skipped the ingredients I didn't have (onion, ginger) and it was still great!

MODIFIED RECIPE
1 medium onion SKIPPED
3 TPSP butter NO BUTTER!
2 tsp red curry powder 3 TBSP CURRY PASTE
2 tsp grated fresh ginger SKIPPED
1/2 tsp salt
1 14oz. can chicken broth VEGGIE BROTH INSTEAD
1 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 lb. butternut squash 2 LBS
1 14oz. can unsweetened coconut milk NOT TODAY
1/2 c. half n' half or light cream NO WAY
1/3 c. fresh cilantro SUBSTITUTED GREEN ONIONS BECAUSE I LOVE THEM!

UNFORTUNATELY, I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MUCH WATER, BROTH, SALT AND GREEN ONIONS I PUT IN, SORRY! THE LIQUID WAS JUST ENOUGH TO COVER THE SQUASH SO IT COULD BOIL AND SIMMER, THAT SEEMED TO BE ENOUGH. ABOUT 3/4 WAS BROTH AND 1/4 WATER. I WAS GOING TO ADD SOME MILK AT THE END, BUT IT WAS ALREADY THE PERFECT, CREAMY CONSISTENCY SO THERE WAS NO NEED.

1. Cook onions in hot butter over medium heat about 10 minutes or until tender and translucent. Stir in curry powder, ginger and salt. Cook 30 seconds more. ADD THIS STEP IF YOU HAVE THE INGREDIENTS AND USE OLIVE OIL INSTEAD OF BUTTER.
2. Stir in chicken broth and water; bring to boiling. Add squash. Return to boiling. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered 40 minutes or until squash is tender. BASICALLY BRING THE BROTH AND SQUASH TO A BOIL, THEN TURN TO LOW. IT ONLY NEEDS TO SIMMER ABOUT 20 MINUTES
3. Cool soup slightly. Transfer half the soup at a time to a blender or food processor. Blend or process until smooth. Return all soup to saucepan. Stir in coconut milk, half and half, and chopped cilantro. Heat through. Top with fresh cilantro. Makes 6 side-dish servings. BLEND EVERYTHING UP (THE SQUASH, BROTH, WATER, CURRY PASTE AND GREEN ONIONS). AFTER BLENDING, IT SHOULD ALREADY BE THE RIGHT WARMTH FOR EATING, BUT PUT IT BACK ON THE STOVE TO STAY WARM. HERE IS WHERE YOU WOULD ADD SALT, MORE CURRY PASTE IF IT NEEDS IT, AND MORE LIQUID IF IT NEEDS IT.

EVERYONE LOVED IT AND IT WAS HEALTHY ENOUGH FOR A LIGHT LUNCH. ADD A SPROUTED GRAIN PEICE OF BREAD FOR DIPPING AND.... YUM YUM YUM! MY PANTS FEEL LOOSER ALREADY :)

(I hope this makes sense!)

1 comment:

  1. Made this the other night with light coconut milk...and we decided that it would be an excellent curry sauce. Yum :)

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