The colors of autumn... a red kuri squash that I purchased at the North Wind Organic Farm in Bayfield, Wisconsin this past weekend.
The flavors of autumn... Creamy Red Kuri Squash Soup is a recipe from Louisa Shafia's Lucid Food: Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life. Her cookbook is divided into seasons making it easy to find recipes using foods that are at their peak ripeness and available locally. I learned of her cookbook from a web search for "red kuri squash soup" that brought me to janespice.com. It's a definite must-make-again.
Creamy Red Kuri Squash Soup
Serves 4 to 6.
4 heaping cups coarsely diced kuri squash (2-3 lb squash)
1 quart vegetable stock available in grocery’s natural foods section (I used low-sodium.)
3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 sweet unpeeled apple, cored and sliced
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 – 2 tsp salt (I omitted.)
½ tsp pepper (I provided at serving time as an individual option.)
Remove squash seeds, peel skin with a vegetable peeler, and coarsely dice. Place the squash in a soup pot with the stock. Simmer covered until firm tender, about 15 minutes. While squash simmers, add 2 tbsp olive oil to a sauté pan. Heat briefly over high low heat then add onion, apple slices, cinnamon, and cayenne and sauté until onions and apple slices are soft. Add to squash and stock, stirring until combined. In batches, if necessary, puree in a blender until smooth adding the remaining tablespoon of olive oil as it blends. Add a little extra stock or water if the soup is too thick.