I remember having butternut squash soup for the first time as a teenager. My parents dragged me to one of their friends for lunch. I was not happy, but there was going to be food so it couldn’t be that bad. Boy, was I wrong. How could anyone make such a bland and crappy tasting soup. My parents friend can, that’s who! needless to say I haven’t had butternut squash until recently. I must have had a nightmare or something, but the memory of that soup came back to haunt me. During said nightmare, I realized it wasn’t the taste of the squash that was the problem, it was the way it was cooked. “That’s it,” I thought to myself, “I’m going to tackle this beast!”

Off I went to the grocery store. Butternut squash, check. Now what? Coconut milk! Check. What goes with coconut milk? Thai chili paste. Got that already. Back to the veggie section. Onions, garlic, mushrooms, tomato and… lemon grass! Oooh, this is getting interesting. My first attempt tasted great, but boy was it thick. I served it on a bed of noodles… Meh! The next day (soup is always better the next day) I reheated it and this time served it on rice. We have a winner! But, it was still missing something. What? Seafood! That’s what’s missing.

The following is the actual recipe I served friends at a diner party. Everyone loved it.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 butternut squash
• 1 can coconut milk
• scallops
• 1 onion
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 4 large mushrooms
• 1 tomato
• 1 stalk lemon grass

Here’s what you need to do:

• cut the butternut squash in half and place on baking pan (cut side up) and sprinkle Italian seasoning on top. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. Remove from oven and let cool
• crush garlic cloves in press and cut onions. Saute onions and garlic at medium heat
• cut tomato into small pieces and add to onion and garlic. Continue cooking
• Remove skin from squash and then add to onions, garlic and tomato, continue cooking and break squash into smaller pieces
• add a can of coconut milk and mix well
• cut lemon grass into 4 equal pieces about 2 inches long. Add one piece immediately and save the other 3 to be added to the soup once it has been pureed.
• add 1 teaspoon Thai chili paste and mix well
• cover and simmer at low temp for 20 minutes
• puree the soup in a blender or food processor
• cut 4 large mushrooms into small pieces. Sauté in butter or oil over medium high heat. Salt and pepper to taste
• add scallops to mushrooms and continue cooking until scallops are completely cooked
• add remaining lemon grass, mushrooms and scallops to pureed squash and mix well
• serve over a bed of rice

Enjoy!

Video and link below.

Spicy Thai Butternut Squash Soup