Thursday, February 7, 2013

Butternut Beef Curry Soup

We are currently waiting for some avocados to ripen, so my planned meal of Pork Carnitas got pushed back until later in the week, and  instead we decided to make  Butternut Squash Soup last night.

I hadn't really thought up what sort of Butternut soup to make - vague notions of something sweet-ish, with nutmeg and honey, maybe, although that doesn't sound very much like a main dish, does it?

I pulled down a jar of homemade broth from the freezer, and as it thawed, realized this was definitely beef broth, and not the roasted chicken broth I'd meant to grab (note to self: freezer labels are our friend!).  So, ok, rich beef broth isn't going to go with a light sweet soup - but maybe some curry flavorings would work.

Well - it does! In fact, it reminded me a lot of one of my unhealthy indulgences (which I mostly avoid) - Japanese curry, made with those paste bars that have all the usual suspects of unpronounceable processed food ingredients.  I'm going to try this again, but throw in a lot of chunky carrots and sweet potatoes and onions and cubed pieces of beef, and see if this is my new Japanese Curry replacement.

Meanwhile, though - here is the soup as we had it last night.  We had one fresh butternut squash, and a bag of frozen diced butternut, so you'll want the equivalent of 2 butternut squashes for this.

Butternut Beef Curry Soup
(serves 4)

2 butternut squashes
1 T. coconut oil
3 cups homemade beef broth
1 T sea salt
1 tsp. pepper (or to taste)
1 tsp. turmeric
2 T. curry powder
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
4 T. coconut cream

Garnish (optional)
dollop yogurt
sprinkle of dried cranberries

To cook the squash:  
Use coconut oil to coat a baking dish big enough to hold the whole squash, and put them in without cutting. Prick with a fork or knife all over.   Cook at 350F for about 1 hour, or until tender.  Remove from oven and let rest until cool enough to handle.

Cut the cooled squash in half, longwise, and scoop out the stringy part and seeds, discard.  Then scoop out the pulp to use.

Making the soup:
Heat the broth to boil, then lower heat and simmer.  Add the butternut pulp and seasonings, and cook about 10 minutes.  Use a stick blender, and puree the soup.  Stir in coconut cream until blended in.

Serve and top with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkling of cranberries, if desired.

We had this along with a hearty salad to start with, and it was quite filling.

 and
 Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, Seasonal Celebration Wednesday, Healthy 2Day Wednesday, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Whimsy Wednesday, Wheat-Free Wednesday, What's Cooking Wednesday, Gluten-Free Wednesday, Wednesday Fresh Foods Link-Up, Wellness Wednesday, Works For Me Wednesday, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Wicked Awesome Wednesday, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Two Girls and a Party, Show & Tell Linky, Down Home Blog Hop, Whole Foods Wednesday, Real Foods Wednesday, Allergy-Free Wednesday, Wow Me Wednesday, Party Wave Wednesday, Thursdays Treasures, Transformation Thursday, Thrifty Thursday, Thank Your Body Thursday, Showcase Your Talent Thursday, Hooking Up with HoH, The HomeAcre Hop, Full Plate Thursday, Tasty Traditions, Thursday Favorite Things, DIY  Thrifty Thursday, Creative Juice, Simple Lives Thursday, Keep It Real Thursdays, Delightfully Inspiring Thursday,Pennywise Platter Thursday, Get Real Frugal Friday, Show & Tell Friday, Friday Favorites, Gluten-Free Friday, Fresh Bites Friday, Foodtastic Friday, Frugal Friday, Freedom Fridays, Farm Girl Blogfest, What I Am Eating, Simple Meals Friday, Foodie Friday, Fight Back Friday, Your Great Idea Link Party, A Favorite Thing, Sweet Saturday Link, Show & Tell Saturday, Simply Natural Saturday, Saturday SHOWlicious, One Creative Weekend.


10 comments:

  1. Looks delish, especially with the garnish.
    I tried sweet potato with curry flavouring last week, it was sooo good!

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  2. This sounds delicious. I love a good soup in the winter.

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  3. anything with coconut cream is a-okay with me, sister friend :)

    thanks for sharing with us at the wednesday fresh foods link up. i look forward to seeing what other seasonal & real/whole food posts you have for us next week!! xo, kristy

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  4. Yum! Found this on A Favorite Thing. :) I would love to have you share this tomorrow on The Creative HomeAcre Hop!
    http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/02/the-creative-homeacre-hop-2.html

    Have a wonderful weekend!

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  5. Thanks for sharing this on Wildcrafting Wednesday!
    http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/02/wildcrafting-wednesday-8.html

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  6. This soup looks very satisfying. I love the touch of the dried cranberries on top. Thanks for sharing with Souper Sundays this week. ;-)

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  7. Delicious, thank for sharing with us on Seasonal Celebration x

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  8. I am a big fan of butternut squash :) Thanks for linking up to Gluten Free Fridays! I have your recipe pinned!

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