This recipe makes a large amount of soup but it perfectly utilizes 1 average Sugar Pie pumpkin (almost any winter squash will work). Feed a crowd, give to friends or freeze for later. Use any left over soup as a sauce to spice up the average stir-fry. You can certainly get ambitious and make your own curry paste, but the prepared version available at your market works just fine.
Ingredients
- About 5 pounds Sugar Pie pumpkin (also called “pie pumpkins” or “pumpkin pie squash”)
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil or butter
- 3 ounces shallots, finely chopped
- 1 heaping tablespoon grated ginger, preferably on a micro-plane
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons prepared red curry paste
- 2 (14-ounce) cans coconut milk
- 2 quarts chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- Salt and pepper
- Toasted pepitas and plain yogurt for garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°. Halve pumpkin and remove seeds* and pulp. Drizzle pumpkin cavity with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for about 30 minutes or until flesh is very soft and skin peels away easily. Remove from oven. Remove skin and discard. Set pumpkin aside.
While the pumpkin is roasting:
Heat coconut oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot (about 5 quarts) until shimmering. Add shallots and a dash of salt and cook until soft. Add ginger, garlic and curry paste and cook 2–3 minutes. Do not brown garlic. Add coconut milk, stock, fish sauce and roasted pumpkin. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook 15 minutes. Using an immersion blender, purée soup until very smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with a sprinkling of toasted pepitas and a swirl of yogurt.
* Don’t discard those seeds! Instead, toss them in olive oil with a little salt and roast them at 400° until golden brown. They make a great snack as well as garnish for your soup.
