curried squash and carrot soup

October 1, 2010

What signifies the arrival of Autumn to you? Is it the date on the calendar, or a chill in the air? Maybe it’s the appearance of certain vegetables and fruits at the farmers’ market. Something else? For me, it’s the turning colour of the leaves. It got colder in Minneapolis a few weeks ago but I still did not accept the coming of Autumn. We celebrated the last of the Summer public holidays with Labor Day weekend, but it felt nowhere close to Fall.

This week I’ve noticed the changing of the leaves. Red, yellow, fiery orange leaves filling the streets I walk down, which weren’t there before. Speckles of Autumnal colour along the banks of the Mississippi. When did that happen?!

It happened this week. Autumn arrived, even though it’s close to seventy degrees and sunny. Autumn came and cloaked my city with rusty coloured leaves and a faint smell of change in the air. And with it, immediately, I allow my tastes to shift. I’ve been holding onto summer with the last remnants of that season’s vegetables: herbed summer squash and potato torte; baked polenta with corn, tomatoes, and fresh basil; even dreaming up such tropical sounding delights as plantain and macadamia nut bread.

But here we are and here I am, making curried squash soup. It must be Autumn.

Curried Squash and Carrot Soup

adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 3 whole carrots, sliced thinly
  • 1 giant yellow squash (or 3-4 normal sized), sliced
  • salt, to taste
  • 1 tbsp curry powder
  • 6 cups, chicken broth (sub veggie broth for vegetarian version)
  • 1/4 cup double cream (heavy whipping cream)

Directions

  1. Heat olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add garlic and onions and stir to coat. Add carrots and cook for 3 minutes, or until they start to get soft. Sprinkle in a little salt.
  2. Add squash. Stir and cook for a few minutes, until squash is soft and tender. After a few minutes, add salt to taste and the curry powder.
  3. Pour in chicken broth. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover pot, and cook for 1 hour.
  4. After 1 hour, taste and adjust seasonings. Turn off heat.
  5. Puree soup, in batches, in a blender. Return to soup pot and bring to a simmer. Stir in double cream. Serve hot. If you don’t want to add cream to the entire batch of soup then maybe just drizzle a cheeky bit over the top.
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