This thick, creamy sweet meat squash soup is naturally vegan, yet extremely filling and delicious! The rich curry flavor is accented with fresh cilantro, chili sauce, and roasted peanuts.
Well, I thought I had seen it all when it comes to squash. I've eaten and loved all types from summer squashes like zucchini and patty pan to hard winter squashes, like butternut, acorn, and the likes. Then, at our family Christmas party this year, my aunt brought us all a whole new kind to love - sweet meat squash!
Here's a picture of the squash in question. Light green and speckled in all its beauty.
My aunt's garden has an overflowing bounty of edible items. She really maximizes all of the space in her yard and has turned it into an impressive mini urban farm. For someone like me with farm lust and a slow (but developing!) green thumb, gardens like these are an inspiration. Luckily, I found sweet meat squash seeds online. Score!
Both sets of my grandparents lived on farms and every summer we would come down from Alaska and spend 2-3 months milking goats, shucking corn, and snacking on sweet blackberries straight from the vine.
Farm life is deeply embedded in my soul. There's something so incredibly rewarding about seeing your first pea sprouts pop up and cooking up the first harvest. Since growing up, my family always left to head back north for the school year, I never got to be around to see the fall bounty. Back to canned green beans and frozen peas. The arctic isn't exactly known for fresh veggies.
Although ugly foods can taste good, sweet meat squash is so far from it, beautiful inside and out. Seriously, check out that orange below!
These suckers aren't your average size, cute little veggie either. Sweet meat squash can easily reach 10-15 pounds! To put it in perspective, think jack-o-lantern sized. Yeah, that's some hefty produce.
For this recipe, my sweet meat squash was about 7-8 lbs. If yours is larger or smaller, just adjust the recipe accordingly. Its a soup so its easy to tweak the seasonings at any point in the cooking process. If you use a huge whopper of a squash and its too bland, add more curry, cumin, and salt. If you know you've got a little guy, scale back a bit. You can always add more seasonings later.
If you have a huge squash, you can always save half for another recipe. I think this flavor would work well in recipes that call for butternut squash, and vice versa. And if you can't find sweet meat squash for this recipe, just sub in butternut squash. It is pretty similar in flavor and texture.
Peeling and cubing the squash is a bit of a PITA (pain in the a$$), but I learned a trick a while back that saves tons of time. Quarter the squash and then microwave the pieces before peeling! This will save you a good 10 minutes, along with your sanity.
If you don't believe in microwaves, you can run the entire thing under hot water for 5 minutes, rotating the squash a few times while doing so. It doesn't work quite as well, but still makes it a good deal easier to peel.
This is what the squash looks like once its fully steamed / boiled. Notice that there isn't enough liquid in the pot to cover the squash pieces so you'll need to stir them a few times while cooking.
You can use a food processor, blender, or whatever you have to blend this soup. Using an emersion blender makes these kinds of light and healthy, creamy soups a breeze though. If you don't have one of these things and love creamy veggie soups, pick one up! Creamy vegetable based soups can be made healthy and vegan (if needed) in no time at all with one of these stick blenders.
I love mine like crazy. Like, probably more than anyone should love any kitchen apparatus anywhere. Its an amazing tool that simplifies a lot of recipes. That being said, a food processor gets the job done too.
I used my emersion blender on this curry carrot soup I made a while back too. That soup was actually the inspiration for this sweet meat squash soup. That soup requires a few unique ingredients and is spicier than a lot of people can handle though so I tried to go more mainstream with this recipe, since the squash is far from it.
After scratching my head trying to figure out what to do with this unique behemoth of a veggie, I realized there aren't many sweet meat squash recipes available on the internet. Since this squash is absolutely delicious and I want others to be motivated to try it, I wanted to use ingredients that most people have in their kitchens already since sweet meat squash is already unique on its own.
Low and behold, a new soup recipe was born. If you're looking to try something new, but don't want to get *too* crazy, try this recipe out. Sweet meat squash will soon be a favorite in your house, like it is in mine now.
Sweet Meat Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 6-7 lb. sweet meat squash (if yours is another size, scale ingredients accordingly)
- 1/2 Tbsp. coconut oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 tsp. minced garlic
- 3 Tbsp. curry powder
- 1 Tbsp. cumin
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 15 oz. can coconut milk (reserve 2 Tbsp. as garnish if desired)
- 3 Tbsp. lime juice
- 2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
Garnishes
- coconut milk
- chili garlic paste
- cilantro
- roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Cut squash in half, and then in half again to quarter. Remove and discard seeds and stringy center parts and peel squash.*
- Cut squash into 1" cubes. It will be blended so they don't have to be perfect, just similar sized.
- Heat oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes to soften. Add garlic and cook a few minutes longer until garlic is soft and aromatic. Add curry and cumin and stir for about 30 seconds.
- Pour broth in and add squash. Put lid on, reduce heat to low, and let simmer/ steam for 15 - 20 mins until squash is full cooked. There will not be enough liquid to full submerge the squash fully so during this time, remove the lid 2-3 times and stir to make sure squash cooks evenly.
- Once squash is fully cooked, add coconut milk, lime juice, and salt. Blend in the pot using a stick blender or process in batches using a food processor or blender (be mindful of the steam!) and return to pot. Adjust seasoning levels if needed based on your preferences.
- Ladle soup into bowls and top with garnishes to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
