So here's the thing. I love soup, especially velvety smooth pureed vegetable soup. When I discovered the wonder of immersion blender five years ago, I was in bliss. Curried cauliflower soup, apple butternut squash soup, the classic vichyssoise, all could be had with just a quick whirl by my trusty immersion blender. And then one day, I broke it. Being so much in love with a kitchen appliance, I got a fancier replacement but it too got broken within two years. Since then, I've been skeptical of my ability to keep an immersion blender alive in my kitchen. I do not want to risk another loss so I keep my distance. Every time I see a soup recipe calling for "or you can make quick work out of it by using an immersion blender!", I sigh and move on.
Of course it doesn't mean I cannot make puree soup without my beloved appliance. After all, cooks used to (and still do!) puree with a foodmill or chinois. It's just that transferring hot liquid in batches into my non-leakproof food processor is not my idea of fun. But then, when I look out the window to see my little maple tree all deck out with a golden crown, I cannot get soup out of my mind. Besides, my latest obsession is to hoard winter squash. Perhaps I never paid attention before but this year I've been tremendously lucky to find all kinds of winter squashes I only previously read about. Red kuri (potimarron) with their hint of chestnut flavour, delicata that tastes like sweet potatoes, honey bear that looks like the more common acorn but with a honey sweetness, and of course my beloved kabocha from the Japanese farmstand at J-Town...they all begged me to take them home as soon as I laid eyes on them.
Since I received my copy of Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table, I had my eyes on Béatrix's Red Kuri Soup. What an elegantly simple recipe using only kuri squash, leeks, milk, water, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Would it be bland without using stock? I trust Dorie's taste and the headnote does promise a phenomenal soup highlighting the chestnut flavour. I adapted her recipe to get around my appliance limitation. Instead of simmering the squash and leeks in liquid before pureeing, I roasted the squash first to make a thick vegetable puree to be thinned with liquid later. This adaptation also makes it feasible to split the work into two days if timing gets tight. I hope you enjoy this soup as much as I do! Dorie is right, you do not need stock. The sweetness of squash and leeks is more than enough to make this soup truly delicious.
Roasted Red Kuri Soup
adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table
serves 6
Ingredients
- 1 medium kuri squash, about 7 to 8 inches in diameter
- 1-2 large stalks of leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced
- 2 tsp unsalted butter
- 3 cups of whole milk
- 2 cups of water
- salt and pepper to taste
- nutmeg, freshly ground, to taste
Method
- Preheat oven to 400F. Lop off the pointy top of squash and cut in half. Scoop out all the seeds and strings. There is no need to peel. Place squash halves cut side up in a small roasting pan and roast in oven for about 45 minutes until tender. Set aside.
- Heat a large pot (I used my 5qt cast iron dutch oven) over medium high heat and drop in the butter. Sautee the leeks until fragrant and slightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Roughly cut the cooked squash into chunks and puree in a food processor with the leeks. If it is too thick, drizzle in a few splashes of milk to move things along. You may need to puree in batches if your food processor is not large enough. Keep going until you have a smooth puree. I have about 6 cups. At this point, you can store the vegetable puree in the fridge if you run out of time to finish cooking like I did.
- Put the vegetable puree back in the large pot along with milk and water. Bring it to a boil over medium high heat and stir often. I love my soup thick and creamy but you can thin it with more water to your liking.
- Season with salt, pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg. Serve immediately while it's piping hot.
