Kabocha Squash Soup with Ginger and Sesame

Kabocha is my favorite winter squash. It’s chestnut-like fluffy texture and deep, sweet flavor shines through no matter how it’s prepared. It’s flesh is a deep orange and it’s skin (which is edible, no peeling!) is either dark green or red (bright and deep orange). Steamed, roasted... it’s hard to go wrong! When puréed, it develops a divine velvety texture that makes it ideal for a comforting soup. This version has the subtle tones of a Japanese flavor profile, and roasted (with all its caramelized goodness) squash which gives  this pumpkin incredible depth of flavor an allows it to be the star! If you haven’t yet tried this wonder, please do!

A Red Kabocha’s deep orange flesh is signature. Here is a “red” version. 

Kabocha Squash Soup with Ginger and Sesame.  

Recipe: 

ingredients- 

2 lb Kabocha Squash, cubed  

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 large onion, diced 

2 stalks celery, diced 

1 large carrot, diced

2” Fresh ginger, minced 

1-2 cloves garlic, minced 

3 cups low sodium vegetable stock

2 tsp mirin

1/2 tsp sesame oil  

splash of rice vinegar  

flaky sea salt

fresh ground pepper

small handful shiitake mushrooms, sautéed until edges are crispy  

method-

1- preheat oven to 425F and line a large baking sheet with parchment  

2- toss squash with about 1/2 the olive oil and season with salt and pepper and roast for 25, minutes, tossing midway, until edges are caramelized.  

3- in a large heavy bottomed pot, sautéed onion in remaining olive oil until translucent, add celery, carrot and garlic and continue until all are sweaty. Season with salt and pepper. Add ginger.  

4- add all ingredients to pot and simmer until all are tender. Turn off heat and allow temperature to drop.

6- carefully transfer all to a high speed blender and purée until a velvety texture is achieved. To avoid hot liquid splashing, remove center of blender lid and cover with a folded dish towel (hold down edges) to allow steam to escape while blender is on  

7- return soup to pot and bring to a simmer. Adjust seasoning to taste.  

8- garnish with sautéed shiitake mushrooms, sesame seeds, gomasio and a drizzle of sesame oil or cream (shown here). A drizzle of tahini is delicious here, too! A few hot pepper flakes will not disappoint.

Enjoy! 

Parchment keeps food from sticking and avoids burnt edges common to tin foil and allows for easy clean up.  

classic mirepoix with fresh ginger

High speed blenders do yield superior results. 

Hope you love this as much as I do!