Thai Butternut Soup #12WksWinterSquash

For week 3 of 12 Weeks of Winter Squash, I'm sharing this Thai inspired take on creamy butternut squash soup. The addition of fish sauce here adds a nice depth of flavor, and the lime at the end is exactly what this soup needs. I used full fat coconut milk, and it was nice and creamy. If you have an immersion blender, use that here so you don't have to worry about blending the soup in batches. For more winter squash recipe inspiration, check out the roundup below. Enjoy!

Thai Butternut Soup
Cooking Light March 2013

If you can't find frozen pureed squash, you can cook this soup with 4 cups cubed butternut squash. Just add 5 extra minutes to the cooking time in step 2.

1 teaspoon canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 ½ teaspoons red curry paste
1 ½ teaspoons minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 (12-ounce) packages frozen pureed butternut squash
1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk
1 ½ teaspoons fish sauce
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts
¼ cup cilantro leaves
1 lime, cut into 8 wedges

1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add curry paste, garlic, and ginger; sauté 45 seconds, stirring constantly.

2. Add broth and next 5 ingredients (through salt); cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Place half of squash mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining squash mixture. Spoon about 1 cup soup into each of 4 bowls; top with 2 tablespoons peanuts and 1 tablespoon cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

Big Flavors Rating: 4 Stars