Butternut Squash Soup

We had our first big snowfall overnight and it is still snowing. Luckily it is Saturday so I don't have to go to work but that also means I don't really want to go to the grocery store.  So I was digging through the refrigerator looking for something that could work for lunch.  I stumbled across the bottom part of a butternut squash way in the back that still looked good so I decided to turn it into soup.

Usually butternut squash soups have sweeter flavors in them that I don't care for.  I prefer spice and garlic so I went with curry kind of flavors.  I was expecting a thick creamy soup when I was done but it turned out much thinner so I threw leftover rice in at the last minute.  It turned out nice and spicy and perfect for a snowy day.

I often take leftovers and turn them into soup so I think I'll do that as a series here.  Every couple weeks or so through the winter, I'll come up with a soup based on the leftovers in my fridge.

Here's the first.

Butternut Squash Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, smashed

4 cups chopped butternut squash

1/2 tsp sweet white miso

1 cup light coconut milk

3 cups water

1/2 tsp garam masala

1 cup cooked jasmine rice

ground pepper

lemon juice

Heat the oil over medium heat in a medium sized soup pot.  Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened.  Add the butternut squash and miso.  Cook two minutes.  Stir in the coconut milk, water, and garam masala.  Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until the squash is soft (10-15 minutes).  Transfer the soup to a blender (or use an immersion blender) and process until the soup is completely smooth.  Return the soup to the pot and stir in the rice.  Heat a couple minutes until heated through.  

On each serving add ground pepper and a sprinkle of lemon juice.