The weather just turned to full-on winter in New York this week. For a lot of people, that means a big bowl of cozy pumpkin soup for dinner! I’m here to let you in on a secret. What makes an even better soup than ordinary pumpkin? Kabocha squash, or Japanese pumpkin, does. You may have even seen it at farmers markets, but didn’t know its name. It comes from the same family as the big orange Halloween pumpkin, but has a gorgeous knobbly emerald skin. Inside, it is a vibrant golden yellow. The flavor is a cross between pumpkin and sweet potato.
Kabocha creates a beautiful creamy soup that has a mildly sweet taste. The recipe lightly greases the kabocha and aromatics with olive oil and maple syrup, roasts them until perfectly charred, then blends them with a simple spice combo to make a well-balanced and hearty soup. With just a few basic pantry items it becomes a one-pot dinner, perfect when paired with sliced bread. If you don’t have kabocha, feel free to replace it with butternut or acorn squash. The dish can be made vegan too – just use olive oil instead of butter.
Cooking notes
1. How to cut kabocha squash
It’s very important to follow the correct procedure to cut the squash to prevent injury. Kabocha squash is quite tough and can be hard to cut. Here is how to do it easier:
Stabilize the kabocha on its side and slice off the tough stem. Use the point of your knife to poke the skin so you have a starting point, then use a sawing motion to slowly cut through the squash instead of pushing it down directly. Sit the kabocha on the cut side. Split it in half by slicing across the squash. Scoop out the seeds using a spoon. Discard the seeds. Sit the squash on the cut side again and further slice it into quarters.
If you still have trouble cutting the squash, you can try microwaving it for 1 to 2 minutes. The heat will slightly soften the texture and make it easier to cut through. Be careful not to overheat the kabocha, otherwise it will be too hot to handle.
2. Roasting technique
Rub some olive oil and maple syrup onto the squash and onion, so they will have a beautiful char once roasted. You don’t need to remove the outer layer from the onion before roasting, because you will peel the outside layer off anyway. Hide the garlic and ginger under the dome of the squash, so they won’t get burned. Once roasted, it’s very easy to peel off the kabocha skin. You can use a paring knife to slice the skin off from a corner, and peel it off with your hands.
3. Adjust the soup texture
Depending on the type of squash you use and its water content, you might need to use more or less stock to reach the desired texture. I used 1 cup of vegetable stock and the soup was quite thick. Feel free to add more stock to make a thinner soup. I used a mixer to make the soup, but you can use a hand blender to blend the soup in a pot as well.
More delicious soup recipes
Hot and Sour Soup Winter Melon Soup with Meatball Chicken Udon Soup Chinese Egg Drop Soup Chinese Oxtail Soup Julia Child’s Cream of Mushroom Soup
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with. Lilja Walter is a part of the Omnivore’s Cookbook team and worked closely with Maggie to develop and test this recipe.
