Weekend Cooking: Curried Squash and Carrot Soup

I was at my parents for few days earlier this week. Shortly after I arrived, my mother showed  me a soup recipe she had taken from her newspaper  the previous weekend.  I took this as a nudge that she and my father would like me to make it for dinner.  The combination of curry, butternut squash and carrots was very appealing.  Since I hadn't made a soup were you roasted the vegetables before hand, I was ready to try this.

The first photo shows the vegetables ready to go in the oven.  I had to keep checking their progress to ensure that the onions didn't burn.

Curried Squash and Carrot Soup  (printable version at this link)
by Jill Wilcox, columnist for the London Free Press

Serves 8-10

• 2 tbsp. (25 ml) vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp. (25 ml) melted butter
• 1 cooking onion, peeled and cut in quarters
• 4 cups (1L) peeled, cubed butternut squash
• 3 cups (750 ml) of carrots cut into 2- inch (5 cm) pieces
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1-1/2 to 2 tsp. (7 – 10 ml) curry powder or garam masala
• 6 cups (1.5L) chicken or vegetable broth
• plain yogurt for garnish
• cilantro for garnish

 1. Combine half of the vegetable oil, butter, onion, squash and carrots in a large bowl. Gently toss.

 2. Place on a baking sheet and roast in a preheated 400F. oven for 30 minutes or until just starting to caramelize. (Make sure the onion does not burn).

 3. Place remaining oil in a stock pot and heat over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until soft.

 4. Add the curry powder and cook a further minute. Add the vegetables and broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

 5. Puree the soup with an immersion blender until very smooth. If the soup is too thick, add some additional broth.

 6. Season with salt to taste.

 7. Ladle into bowls and garnish with a dollop of yogurt and a sprig of cilantro.

  

Sorry the photo is sideways, I tried to write this post on my Playbook, and couldn't figure out how to rotate the photo.

Kate asked how this would turn out without pureeing it.  I did it in the blender and it did leave some chunks.  They didn't bother us a bit.  If you were not going to puree, I would cut the chunks smaller, I left them rather large.  I would definitely dice the onion and probably cook that part in the soup pot along with the garlic and only roast the squash and carrots.  As for cutting the squash.  I slice it into 3/4 to 1 inch rings.  Lay them flat then slice off the skin.  You can't do it safely as a huge vegetable.  Once the peel is off, I chop it into pieces and then remove the stringy insides.

Looking for additional soup recipes, visit my earlier post, "The Great Soup Recipe Hunt", for over 25 links.

For more foodie fun, be sure to visit Beth Fish Reads for her Weekend Cooking post.