Oh baby, it’s cold outside! Where I live, the mercury has begun its winter drop. Just in time for some fleece-lined pants, fuzzy socks, a cozy fire, and delicious homemade soup! Give this Martha Stewart recipe a try! It’s healthy, easy, cozy, hearty, and packed with some exquisite exotic flavors that will liven up the blustery season. This soup is so delicious, I will be making it again during winter!

Have a warm, wonderful, and safe Thanksgiving holiday! 🙂

NOTE:
The ingredients and instructions below are verbatim from Martha’s site, with my modifications/annotations in magenta. To make this soup vegan/vegetarian, replace with vegetable broth.

 INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup diced shallots
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup minced fresh peeled ginger ~ lightly scrubbed with veggie brush, skin left on
• 4 bay leaves
• 1/2 tablespoon crushed red-pepper flakes
• 2 1/2 pounds Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
• 1 1/3 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon curry powder ~ 3 teaspoons of Madras Curry powder
• 2 cups homemade or canned, store-bought low-sodium chicken stock, heated ~ 1 carton Imagine organic free-range chicken broth (=4 cups)
• 1 one-inch chunk palm sugar (available in Asian grocery stores) ~ evaporated cane sugar
• 1 fifteen-ounce can low-fat coconut milk
• Freshly chopped chives (or scallions), for garnish
• Fresh curry leaves, for garnish ~ omitted
• Fresh organic cilantro leaves, for garnish
• Fresh ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, and continue to stir; add ginger. Continue cooking until shallots are soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add bay leaves and red pepper; continue cooking for 1 minute more. Stir in squash, salt, and curry powder; cook for 10 minutes.
2. Raise the heat to medium-high, and add chicken stock. Cover, and bring to a boil. Immediately lower the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring and mashing every 5 minutes. Add the palm sugar and cook for 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk and continue cooking for 10 minutes.
3. Remove bay leaves from soup. Using an immersion blender or in batches using a bar blender, puree until smooth.
4. Reheat soup, seasoning with salt and pepper. Garnish with chives/scallions and cilantro leaves, and serve immediately.