Hearty Kabocha Squash Soup Recipes

Steps:

• In a stockpot, cook sausage, onion and red pepper over medium heat 9-11 minutes or until sausage is no longer pink and onion is tender, breaking up sausage into crumbles. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside; discard drippings., Add squash, 1-1/2 cups corn, water and chicken base to same pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 15-20 minutes or until squash is tender., Remove soup from heat; cool slightly. Process in batches in a blender until smooth. Return to pot. Add beans, tomatoes, salt, pepper, sausage mixture and remaining corn; heat through. If desired, drizzle servings with cream and sprinkle with parsley. Freeze option: Freeze cooled soup in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally and adding a little water if necessary.

Steps:

• Get a kabocha squash. You'll be using the skin of the squash, so start by washing the squash under water. Cut the squash in half. The skin is quite hard, so you need to be very careful. Clean out the seeds, and place the squash, cut halves down, on a baking pan. Bake for 1 hour at 350°F Remove from the oven and set aside.
• Dice up the onion and garlic cloves. Get out a pressure cooker and add a splash of olive oil. Lightly brown the onion and garlic. Pour in two cans of chicken (or vegetable) stock and 1/4 cup white wine. Check out that kabocha squash you took out of the oven earlier. You will be adding in the entire squash, skin and all, but not the hard little stem at the top of the squash. The squash will be very soft, and the skin will tear easily.Discard that hard stem at the top of the squash. Add the squash to the pressure cooker, and everything else on the ingredient list.
• Seal up the pressure cooker and cook at pressure for 8 minutes. Cool the pressure cooker using the cold water release method. Open the lid of the pressure cooker, and use an immersion blender (a "stick blender") and puree the soup to a smooth consistency. Serve hot.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the squash cubes on a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, and coat lightly with olive oil. Roast until tender and lightly caramelized, about 20 minutes. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, in a heavy soup pot, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high. Add leeks, salt lightly and let cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until softened but still bright green. Remove leeks and set aside to stir into soup later.
• Add a little more oil to the pot, then add the onions. Season with salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the chorizo, garlic and red-pepper flakes, and cook for 2 minutes. Add cooked beans and 8 cups water, bean broth or vegetable stock, bring to a simmer, and cook gently for about 30 minutes. Taste and correct seasoning.
• Gently stir in the cooked squash, kale and reserved leeks, and cook for 10 minutes more on low heat. Add a little more broth or water if the potage seems too thick. Check seasoning and adjust as needed.
• To serve, ladle into bowls. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil.