Kalabocha Squash is Japanese pumpkin and it is also called Kabocha Squash. It has deep green skin and orange flesh. It is naturally sweet and feels and tastes like regular pumpkin. It has the same nutritional value as butternut squash or any winter squash. It is rich in antioxidants and helps fight inflammation.
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| Kalabocha Squash Soup served with Sesame Blues |
Ingredients:
Kalabocha Squash - 1
Crushed Fresh Garlic - 1 clove
Crushed Fresh Ginger - 1/2 tsp
Sweet Onion - 1 (diced)
Coconut milk - 1 cup (I used Thai Kitchen Organic Coconut milk. You could simply use almond milk, if you prefer)
Water - 3 cup
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Cayenne Pepper or Black Pepper to taste
Avocado Oil - 1 tbsp
Pink Himalayan Salt to taste
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| Kalabocha Squash before cutting or baking |
Fresh Cilantro or Parsley for garnish
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Wash the Kalabocha Squash thoroughly because we will be using the skin also for this soup. Believe me, the skin is so tasty when it is well cooked. Look at the picture to the right to see how the squash looks like.
- Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. You probably could clean and keep the seeds for later use but I discarded them.
- Put a cup of water in a glass baking tray and bake the two halves for about 30-40 minutes.
- Cube the baked halves and these cubes will be used to make soup. Right below you can see a picture of the baked and cubed squash ready to be made into a soup.
- Next, for the soup, you will need to heat up avocado oil in a heavy bottomed steel wok. Add diced onions, crushed ginger and garlic. Saute for about a minute or two.
- At this point add cubed squash, salt and spices and give it a stir.
- Finally, add coconut milk and the rest of the water. Mix well and cover cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes. By this time, you would start smelling the sweet aroma of the soup.
- Test for cookedness, adjust salt and spices as needed. Garnish with cilantro or parsley leaves and serve it with any crackers. I enjoyed my soup with Sesame Blues from Garden of Eatin'.
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| Kalabocha Squash Baked and Cubed ready to be made into soup |
Variations:
- You can make this soup with any squash you like.
- You could also use almond milk instead of coconut.
