Delicious "Pumpkin" / Red Kuri Soup

This is one of my favorite soups to make. I discovered Red Kuri (in Germany I knew it as Hokkaido pumpkin) a couple years ago while cooking with a friend in college. One thing I loved about it immediately was that you can use the ENTIRE pumpkin and didn't have to get rid of the skin. That being said, try getting an organic one if you can. Prep time should be somewhere around 30mins and cooking another 20.

The first year we were trying to find this "pumpkin" in the US, we had a pretty hard time, but maybe we just weren't looking in the right places. As I thought it to be a pumpkin, we were expecting it to be around with all the other pumpkins, of course. The first one we found was almost an accident, they had put it so far out of sight and I don't even know how I found it, but when I did, I think I squealed a little. ;)

This year, Whole Foods had a bunch of them in the weeks after Halloween, so maybe just waiting it out would be a good option if you can't seem to find them right away.

I ALWAYS use a scale and can therefore really only give instructions pertaining to weights and not cups, I'll do my best, though! I suggest getting one, it's well worth it.

You'll also need a large pot and a magic wand to puree your soup once it's cooked.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyhow, here's what you'll need for roughly 4-6 servings, depending on how big they are:

- 1.8lb / 800g Red Kuri Squash

- 1.3lb / 600g Carrots

- 1large Onion

- 2in / 5cm Ginger

- 2Tbsp Butter

- 4C / 2.2lb / 1Liter Broth (Vegetable, but whatever really)

- 2C / 500ml Coconut Milk (I think cans in the US are ~400ml)

- Salt & Pepper

- Soy Sauce

- 1 Lemon

You can pull out the large pot at this point, but wait on the heat just yet, cutting everything will take a minute, or two, or ... You can also add the 2tbsp of butter at this point.

Start peeling what needs peeled (carrots, onion and ginger) and cut what needs cutting (carrots, onion, ginger, squash).

Since you'll be pureeing everything in the end, don't bother cutting everything super tiny like you normally would to fit things in your mouth. Makes it a lot easier and quicker.

When cutting the squash, do be careful! It's very resistant and hard to cut at first, like any other pumpkin or squash you might have cut before. Clean the outside well and remove the seeds as well as any dark spots you don't want in your soup. Then just dice the whole thing and throw it into the pot with all the other ingredients.

Maybe someone among you has never tried peeling ginger before, so I included a quick collage on how to do it effectively. Grab a spoon or really anything with a hard edge (butter knife, fork, etc.) and just scrape the skin off. Easy. Peasy. Done.

Now that you got all that in the pot, turn on the heat and sauté everything to the best of your abilities. I know, you're pot might be almost overflowing at this point, but everything will be cooked evenly once the broth has its big moment.

Once sautéed, add the broth. Bring this to a broil and let it cook until the veggies are soft. Do the same test as you would on potatoes if you can't tell by just looking at it. Remember, it'll be pureed, so you want everything to be a bit softer than normal, for ease.

Now that everything is cooked, you can either turn the heat off entirely or turn it on loooow. Whip out the magic wand mixer and start pureeing the soup. Be careful doing so, as HOT soup might splatter around you and all over kitchen walls, stove, countertops, into eyes, etc. You can tell, I have experience in this. ;)

At first the soup will be rather thick, but once you have a homogenous liquid, it's time to pour in the coconut milk, a little soy sauce as well as the juice of the lemon. Mix well and also start adding seasoning to your liking. Everything will come out to a smooth and creamy soup. If you're extra picky, you might want to pour your soup through a sieve.

It's ready to serve whenever you are!

Since you can download this 'Ible when you're a pro, I thought you might want a more concise version of this recipe without all of my jabbering in the background. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

- 1.8lb / 800g Red Kuri Squash
- 1.3lb / 600g Carrots
- 1large Onion
- 2in / 5cm Ginger
- 2Tbsp Butter
- 4C / 2.2lb / 1Liter Broth (Vegetable, but whatever really)
- 2C / 500ml Coconut Milk (I think cans in the US are ~400ml)
- Salt & Pepper
- Soy Sauce
- 1 Lemon

How to:

Clean and cut squash, ginger and onion and sauté in butter. Add broth and cook for approx. 15-20mins. Puree very fine (and pour though sieve). Reduce heat, add coconut milk and season to taste with salt, pepper, soy sauce and lemon juice.

-------------------------------

If you're wondering now why you had to read through aaalllll this to get to the quickie version, I'll respond with a sincere "sorry", this is instructables after all and not just a recipe catalogue. :P

Do enjoy this soup if you can, especially while it's so cold outside and just maybe consider voting for it in the heirloom recipe contest.

Happy I'm-cold-and-it's-not-even-winter-yet!

...I hope it doesn't say anywhere here I live in LA, that would make me sound really ridiculous... Ups, did I saaaaay that? I will stop now.