Repost: Kabocha Soup

It is finally hoodie weather, well, at least in the morning. Time for kabocha. I posted this one in 2009 so it is time to make sure everyone knows about it. It is so easy and satisfying on a cold day.

 

Kabocha Soup

Serves two.

1/4 kabocha, peeled and chopped

1/4-1/2 small onion, diced

a little oil

1 chicken bullion cube (vegetable also tastes great and makes this a vegan recipe)

2 cups water

fresh ground pepper to taste

milk or soy milk, optional

In a soup pot, saute the onion in the oil until transparent. Add the kabocha, bullion cube and water.  Simmer until the kabocha is cooked – it should break in half when you put a fork in it. Turn off the heat and allow to cool for a bit.  Puree everything using a blender, food processor or immersion blender.  Reheat if necessary. This will be on the thick side.  You can thin it with water or milk/soy milk/cream if desired.

Spinach soup

Spinach is in season and I bought two massive bunches of it from the local farmer’s market. The first thing I did was search on Cookpad for spinach soup. I wanted something that wasn’t really creamy since I don’t really do dairy products.

Kabu and onion soup

I wanted something nice and light for lunch yesterday so I decided to try making a soup that I had the day before at Earthen Place Cafe here in Zushi. It was a kabu (a white turnip) and onion soup so I gave it a try and was happy with the results. Click here for a picture of the kabu. Despite the texture resembling the daikon radish, which takes a long time to cook through and become tender, kabus cook very quickly. This soup can easily be vegan, gluten-free or any other allergen free simply by changing your bullion cube.

500mL water
1 bullion cube 
1 medium onion
1 medium to large kabu
salt and pepper, to taste

Put the water in a sauce pan and bring it to a boil. While you are waiting for the water to boil, peel and thinly slice the onion into half moon shapes. When the water has boiled, add the onion and bullion cube and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer until the onion turns translucent. I let mine get soft because I don’t like onions that are still firm. While the onion is cooking, peel the kabu, cut in half, then each half into thirds. Finally slice thinly. You basically need to cut a thin slice into six pieces. Once the onion is ready, add the kabu and simmer until it becomes tender. This should only take about five minutes.

Other soups you may enjoy:

• Split Pea Soup

• Kabocha Coconut Curry Soup

• Meatball udon

• Broccoli Soup

• Green Pea Soup

If you haven’t signed up yet, head here to join my email newsletter. You will get recipes I haven’t shared here on the blog and advanced notice about upcoming cooking classes.

Split Pea Soup

I just about had to ditch writing this post. I went on to Amazon to get the link to the 1kg bag of yellow split peas I bought last month and I couldn’t find it. I searched for イエロースプリットピーズ instead of イエロースプリットピース and the difference in the final character made a huge difference. Then I went on to Rakuten to see if they had any (using the incorrect search term) and nothing.  I checked Tengu Natural Foods as well. Nada. I can’t post a recipe if you can’t get the main ingredient relatively easily. Luckily I just googled it and google suggested the correct spelling. Phew.

Anyway, this is one of my favorite winter soups. It might even rank higher than my kabocha soup. Maybe because it is special because I have to order one of the ingredients. It’s usually made with a ham bone but I have had to improvise since I have never even seen one for sale here (not that I’ve ever thought to look).

This soup tastes fantastic the next day and is great in a thermos for lunch.

250mL cup of yellow split peas
750mL water
3 slices of bacon, sliced thinly
1 small onion, diced
1/2 carrot, cut into slices
10-15cm of celery, cut into slices
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper, to taste
optional, 1 bullion/consomme cube

Fry the bacon in the bottom of your soup pot. When browned, take out and saute the onion in the bacon fat. Add everything and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer on low, covered, until the split peas are soft. Take out the bay leaf and puree. You may want to let it cool a bit first. Reheat, if necessary,  and season to taste. If you like thinner soup you may want to add water but wait until after you puree as it will appear thicker at first. Serve with a hearty good bread.

If you’re looking for more soup recipes try my

• Kabocha Coconut Curry Soup
• Meatball udon
• Tomato and Carrot Soup
• Broccoli Soup
• Green Pea Soup
• Double Mushroom Soup (dairy free)

If you haven’t signed up yet, head here to join my email newsletter. You will get recipes I haven’t shared here on the blog and advanced notice about upcoming cooking classes.

What is your favorite winter soup? Please leave a comment below and let me know. If you have a link to the recipe please add it as well.

Kabocha Coconut Curry Soup

I ran out to the supermarket to buy kabocha squash because I was sure I had already posted my carrot coconut curry soup recipe and I wanted something new to post. Looking through my recipe list I found that I was wrong. I guess I’ll have to post that soon. As you can see in the picture, I left the rind on this time. Depending on your view on the nutrients in skin/rind versus scary chemicals stuck to skin/rind question you may want to remove it. I am more on the nutrients in skin/rind side but sometimes remove it for clarity of color purposes.

This is a nice warming soup for a cold day. I had it with homemade rye flatbread and a grilled cheddar sausage.  Most of the ingredient proportions depend on your taste. I used less curry powder than I would have like to but I imagine that would have caused my 17 month old some discomfort.

1/4 kabocha squash
1/2 – 1 can coconut milk (350mL can)
1 small onion
a bit of oil
salt and pepper, to taste
curry powder, to taste
vegetable or chicken boullion cube (if your kabocha is bland)

Deseed and cut up your kabocha squash up into small chunks. Dice the onion and saute it in a bit of oil in a soup pot until translucent.  Add the kabocha squash and enough water to cover the kabocha squash. Bring to a boil and simmer until the kabocha squash is soft. Puree using any method you like (I love my immersion blender), add the coconut milk and season to taste. Keep in mind that the curry powder will gain strength as it sits so if you are making this for later add a bit less curry powder. Serve hot.