Creamy Kabocha Squash Soup

The leaves change color, the air is crisp, there’s a frost on the ground, it’s fall, and squash season. What better way to herald in the changing season than creamy kabocha squash soup. Hearty, healthy and warms the soul

Well, that sounds great in a temperate climate, I used to live in New Jersey. But now I live in Florida, there’s two seasons, hot and hotter, and palm trees don’t change color. However the creamy kabocha squash soup tastes just as good. So let’s get prepping

Let’s look at the squash.

There’s lots of them out there. Butternut, Acorn, Spaghetti, Pumpkin and more. Each has its own flavor profile. Kabocha Squash, sometimes called Japanese Squash, was brought to Japan from Cambodia by Portuguese sailors in the 16th century. The name Kabocha is actually a Japanese shortened version of what the Portuguese sailors called it “Camboja Abobora”

It’s sweet, flavorful and can be cooked in many way, however, in soups it shines. The flesh breaks down while cooking and thickens the soup nicely. And the flavor is sweet, almost to a sweet potato

Moving onto the soup base.

All soups and stews have a base, in this case onion, celery and carrots form the base, they are sautéed together before the aromatics (herbs and spices are added). It’s called Mirepoix. If you were cooking Cajun style gumbo, the base is onion green bell pepper and celery, and it’s called The Holy Trinity. All soups start with a base

Because Kabocha Squash has a wonderful flavor of its own, we don’t want to hide that behind a lot of spices and other flavors. The only herbs and aromatics added here are garlic (because I love it and it’s good for you), ginger (because it adds a little warmth to the spoon) coriander and cumin.

For the addition of the stock, well, I usually use low sodium chicken stock, but you can add vegetables stock instead. It all depends on what you prefer. You can add plain water if you like, but that’s kinda plain. My preference is to use my own chicken stock, it’s delicious.

The prep

As with any squash soup, I always roast the squash first. It concentrates the flavor and the caramelized flesh adds another flavor dimension. So, cut it in half, remove the seeds and webbing, rub a little olive oil on it, and sprinkle salt and pepper. Put on a parchment paper lined oven tray. Roast in the oven for about 45 mins at 400, should be enough. You want the flesh to be soft and a little discoloration from the heat. Remove, allow to cool and scoop out of the skin.

Now we move on to the Mirepoix. I will cook everything in one pot, keeps all the flavors. So, preheat an appropriately sized soup pot, add the oil, cook the onion, celery and carrot over medium heat. You want the vegetables to cook till soft, releasing their flavors. Keep covered and stir occasionally. When cooked, add the garlic, ginger and spices, give them about 5 mins.

The assembly

Now add the stock and Kobucha, turn up the heat, bring to a boil, stirring, then turn to simmer, cover and let everything come together. This is the important part, you want all these flavors to be released and mix together. 1/2 hour minimum, but an hour is fine.

Lets be safe here. Set up a workstation on the counter. Put down a hotplate for the soup put, set up the blender, and put a bowl next to it that can hold all the soup. Ladle out about a cup at a time into the blender and blend till smooth. remember to be careful, the soup is hot. Once everything is blended, pour back into the pot, put back on the stove on a simmer. Let it sit like this for 15 mins, then serve, and enjoy