Roasted butternut squash and coconut milk soup with a Southeast Asian twist is served with a dollop of cilantro, ginger, lime and coconut pesto.
Ingredients
- 3 pound butternut squash
- 4 cloves garlic, divided
- 1 bunch cilantro, cleaned and big stems removed
- ¼ cup unsweetened flaked coconut
- ¼ cup blanched almonds
- ½ to 1 jalapeno (depending on how hot you like it), seeded
- Zest from one lime
- 4 ounces lime juice, divided
- ½ T fish sauce
- 2 t honey
- ½ t salt
- 3 T unsalted butter
- 1 large onion, peeled (1½ cups when chopped)
- 3 cups chicken broth
- Orange peel from 1 small orange
- 1 cup coconut milk
Directions
- 1Heat oven to 400 degrees. Poke holes in the squash with a fork or a knife and roast until a fork easily pierces the squash, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Peel the squash with your fingers, or use a paring knife to deal with the tougher spots. Slice squash in half and remove the seeds with a spoon. Chop into 2" chunks.
- 2While the squash is roasting, make the pesto. Put ginger in food processor and blitz until finely chopped. Remove ginger and set aside. Repeat with the garlic cloves.
- 3Return half the ginger and half the garlic to the food processor. Add cilantro, coconut, almonds, jalapeno, lime zest, lime juice, fish sauce, honey and salt to the food processor and blitz until mixture is finely chopped. Remove from food processor and set aside.
- 4Put onions in the food processor and pulse, until coarsely chopped.
- 5In a large heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter. Add the onion, remaining garlic and ginger to the pot and sauté for 25 minutes, until onions are soft and begin to take on some color. Stir frequently.
- 6Add chicken broth, butternut squash and the orange zest strip to the pot. Turn up heat, bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to medium. Simmer for about 15 minutes until squash is very tender.
- 7Turn off heat, remove orange zest and allow to cool. Working in batches, puree soup in a blender. Return soup to pot and stir in coconut milk and lime juice. Check temperature and heat up if needed.
- 8Serve in individual bowls or mugs with a dollop of the pesto.
