Curried Squash and Coconut Soup

This lovely, creamy soup is the perfect starter to an elegant meal, and could also be featured as the main course accompanied by freshly baked bread and a light salad. The recipe as shown below will make between 8 and 10 cups of soup depending on the size of the squash used. Please note that this soup is quite similar to an earlier recipe that used roasted hubbard squash, but tweeked to allow you to make it with just the stove top. This was the exact recipe we used at my Soup Making class at Tecumseh Community School - enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 head of garlic
• 1 large squash, peeled and cut into roughly 1” - 2” chunks
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 large sweet onion, chopped finely or pureed in a food processor
• 2 Tbsp plus a drizzle of olive oil
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 3 cups of vegetable broth
• 2 cup of apple juice
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• 2 ½ tsp curry powder
• ¼ tsp freshly grated ginger

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Cut the top ¼” from the head of garlic, exposing the cloves within. Drizzle with olive oil and wrap in aluminum foil, and roast for 45 minutes.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the chunks of squash, and boil from 10 -15 minutes or until tender. When cooked, drain the water and remove cooked squash to a large mixing bowl. Add butter and mash until smooth and creamy.
3. Using gentle pressure from the bottom of the head of garlic, squeeze the roasted cloves out of the head into the bowl with the squash. Mix roughly with a large spoon and set aside.
4. In a large pot, add 2 Tbsp of olive oil and gently caramelize onions over medium heat (about 7 minutes). Whisk in vegetable broth, apple juice and coconut milk and as the liquids begin a rolling boil, add the cinnamon, curry powder and ginger.
5. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gradually add the squash mixture, stirring and/or whisking until fully incorporated.
6. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 30 minutes to allow flavours to combine and deepen.