Thai Butternut Squash Soup

I’d be 100% happy to eat soup every day. This is an untested hypothesis, sadly, because Jeff insists that soup is not a meal (I wonder where he could have picked up that idea). There is less complaining if I also make rolls or bread bowls to go with it, but really, what special breed of whiner doesn’t appreciate a delicious homemade soup?

(He’ll be annoyed when [if] he reads this—he doesn’t actually complain about it, he just doesn’t get excited over soup the way I do. Mmmmm, soup. So warm and comforting and delicious. I don’t understand his ambivalence. Whenever I try a new soup recipe and ask what he thinks of it, his answer is invariably, “It’s good . . . for soup.” Always with the qualifier . . . for soup.)

Since he always loves and requests Asian food, I figured maybe an Asian soup would go over better. I forgot, however, that his least favorite soups--the very bottom scrapings from a category he dislikes overall—are pureed soups. Whoops. Needless to say, he didn’t love this dinner quite as much as I’d hoped, and I wasn’t able to make a soup lover of him with this one. I’ll keep trying.

But I loved it! I thought the Thai flavors were a delicious change from typical butternut squash soups (which I always like), I loved the combination of the crunchy peanuts with the smooth and creamy soup, and the cilantro and lime juice were just perfect with it. I’ll definitely be making this one again, even if I’m the only one who really enjoyed it. I was totally okay with eating all the leftovers by myself.

Thai Butternut Squash Soup
slightly adapted from My Recipes

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons red curry paste
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 cup chicken broth
2 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 medium-sized butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped (roughly 4 cups)
1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)

For garnish:
peanuts, coarsely chopped
fresh cilantro, chopped
fresh lime wedges

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat; add onion and sauté 3-5 minutes or until softened. Add curry paste, garlic, and fresh ginger; stir and cook 1 minute longer.

Add chicken broth, brown sugar, squash, coconut milk, fish sauce, and salt to the pot (start with 1/4 teaspoon salt and add more before serving if you need it). Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10-20 minutes or until squash is tender. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup (or transfer the soup in batches to a blender and puree—make sure to have the blender lid barely opened so the steam can escape).

Serve soup topped with plenty of peanuts and chopped cilantro, and top with a drizzle of fresh lime juice to taste.

(Jeff just walked by and asked what I was up to. I said typing up the post for the butternut soup we had the other night and he said—I kid you not, this is verbatim from his lips—“Yeah, that was pretty good. For soup.” Every dang time.)