Say what kinda squash soup? ? Port City Foodies - Wilmington Star ...

Kabocha squash and peanut soup

Ever run across one of those funky Japanese Kabocha pumpkins in the store? I?ve been meaning to buy one of these ugly ducklings for a while now. It only took me three weeks to decide what to do with it, but now that it?s in my belly I can say for certain I?ll be picking it up again in the future.

?They?re kind of hard to miss with a distinctive dark green skin sporting blotches of yellow. While I bought it at Saigon Market, ?I?ve seen these for less than $2 bucks a pound at area Food Lions. For the recipe that?s to follow you?ll need one in the 1.5-2 pound range.

I scoured over a bunch of cookbooks looking for a recipe including a half dozen Japanese tomes, none of which quite hit the spot. It?s a winter squash and all the recipes were likewise hearty. Just way too much for the lingering summer heat we?ve had this year.

I turned back to one of my favorite books, Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, and had a little more luck. She (author Andrea Nguyen) has a dish that simmers it in coconut milk with raw peanuts, another soupy favorite around my place. I took a few liberties and wound up with something that practically vanished overnight with only two people eating it. I was hoping the leftovers would last at least a few days?

Kabocha Peanut Soup

1/2 cup raw peanuts
a 1.5-2 pound Kabocha squash
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 can coconut milk (the 13.5 oz size)
1 cup water
Fresh chopped herbs

Step one is to get the peanuts simmering in enough water to cover, they take longer to cook.?The rest is pretty easy as long as you can tackle the squash. It operates more or less like the butternut squash I destroyed last year, just make the cubes a little smaller than that. Anyway, let the peanuts go until they?re starting to get tender while you deal with the Kabocha.

After 15 or so minutes, drain the now softened (but not squishy) peanuts and toss everything except the herbage into a pot to simmer, it will only take another 15 minutes for the squash to cook. Don?t let it get too squishy.

Serve with a pinch of freshly chopped herbs. Her recipe says cilantro, but I only had thyme at the moment. But I?m pretty sure just about anything from mint to marjoram would work.

I?ll keep trying to find fun ways to use this thing, but would love a suggestion or two if you have any favorite recipes!

Source: http://foodies.blogs.starnewsonline.com/24088/say-what-kinda-squash-soup/

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