| Disclosure: This recipe was created for Ancient Harvest. See below for more details. |
In the super market or farmers' market, it might be easy to over look unfamiliar produce. It's easy to gravitate towards the knowns such as broccoli, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash. However, when dealing with winter squash, there is abundance of varieties, each with their own flavor profile and perfect uses. Kabocha squash is known for a slightly sweeter flavor and, like the delicata and red kuri squash, it's edible skin. However, because of the sweetness, my favorite way to prepare this squash is to roast then puree it into soup. The roasting plays on the already sweet squash and is the foundation for a wonderful soup without many ingredients.
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If looking to reheat this soup throughout the week, you will most likely need to add additional broth during the reheating process. You can also use cream or coconut milk, depending on the flavors you would like.
For a quicker meal, roast the squash ahead of time, up to 3 days in advance, and save in the refrigerator.
Use caution with the sesame drizzle- it's easy for the oil to overpower the soup. I recommend pouring it into 1/4 teaspoon and drizzling from there.
I am hesitant to give you many variations on this soup because it is one that really works well as is. As mentioned above, I find the kabocha squash to be one of the better squashes for soup (maybe even better than butternut squash). However, there are a few swaps you can make if you're looking to make this in a pinch without a couple of the ingredients.
Squash: I know not all markets have the kabocha squash (a shame) but the sesame/ginger flavor does work well with butternut squash and to a lesser extent, acorn squash. If really in a pinch, sweet potatoes would even work.
Quinoa Flakes: I used Ancient Harvest's quinoa flakes as the base for this granola but you could go back to the traditional route and use oats (I've also been known to do a combination of quinoa, oats, and even rye flakes before).
Cream: With a high ratio of squash to vegetable broth, this soup turns out creamy without the aid of any additional ingredients. However, a couple times when I made this soup, I did add a splash of heavy cream at the end. It definitely doesn't need it but some days call for a bit of indulgence.
Look for squash that has a firm outer, dark green shells (no soft spots) and has some heft to it (3 pounds is a good-sized squash). If looking to store squash long-term, roast the squash ahead of time, puree, and freeze for up to 6 months.
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Roast it: Kabocha Squash with Cumin Salt
Mmm, looks delicious! I was drawn in with the vibrant color. It would be easy to play around this soup too.
This does look so good! I have had several soups with a squash base and I loved them! I am currently reading Ditching the Drive Thru by J Natalie Winch, http://spikehornpress.com/product/ditching-the-drive-thru/ her recipes are based in farm fresh options and how to obtain the keys to finding the farms and getting quality items from them.
Okay, I'm making this tomorrow, it just can't wait! 🙂
Yum. Anything with squash is so good. This soup looks so delicious. I will be making it this weekend.
This looks fantastic, and I love the idea of making a savory granola to add to soup. Yum.
Gorgeous looks!
Made this for my boyfriend and I and we loved it!! My squash must have been bigger than yours as I needed to add almost 4 cups veggie broth and used a whole onion. My boyfriend even asked me to make this again for Christmas 🙂