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Butternut Squash Soup With Red Chile and Mint

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I’m always happy when I get a request from friends or readers for a specific dish or ingredient. Recently my friend, Judy Yorke, asked if I had a good butternut squash soup recipe. I didn’t, but after some trial and error, I came up with a really good one. It’s spicy–very spicy–but you can tone it down if it’s too hot for you. 

This butternut squash soup was inspired by a recipe in the November issue of Sunset magazine. It’s easy to make, bursting with flavor and best yet–only 131 calories. That’s almost too good to be true.

INGREDIENTS FOR BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
  • 2 lbs. butternut squash 
  • 2 TBS. light sesame oil or olive oil (I used a little of each to equal 2 TBS.)
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 TBS. chopped fresh basil
  • 1 TBS. chopped fresh mint
  • 1 cinnamon stick, 3 inches long
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp. red chili flakes (by mistake I used 1 TBS–it was HOT)
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 12 coriander seeds, 12 black peppercorns, and 4 cloves, tied in a cheesecloth sachet
  • 2 TBS. whipping cream

Here’s a photo of most of the ingredients you’ll need.

Cut a piece of cheesecloth and place peppercorns, coriander seeds and cloves in the middle.

Tie securely with kitchen twine.

Peel the butternut squash. Remove seeds and membrane. I use a large spoon to clean it out.

Cut squash into 1-inch cubes. 

Heat oil in large pot over medium high heat. Add squash, onion, basil, and mint and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. 

Add cinnamon stick, 1 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. red pepper flakes (or 1 TBS if you like it hot). Add 4 cups chicken broth and the spice sachet.

Bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer and cook, partially covered, until squash is tender, about 20-25 minutes. Remove spice sachet and cinnamon stick.

Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. 

You can use a blender if you don’t have an immersion blender, but do it in batches. It should look like this.

Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle 1 tsp. or so of cream over each bowl. Finish with a pinch of red pepper flakes.

I was really happy with how this recipe turned out, and hope you are too, Judy. And thanks again for the request.

As always, read it first at Stu News Laguna.

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