Kabocha Spinach Soup
I found this easy recipe online. It's quick, easy, and very yummy. They suggest serving with hearty bread, but I've eaten it over bulgur wheat and that worked great.
I found this easy recipe online. It's quick, easy, and very yummy. They suggest serving with hearty bread, but I've eaten it over bulgur wheat and that worked great.
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 dash black pepper
- 2 1/7 lbs kabocha squash washed, seeds removed and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 8 small cloves garlic peeled and left whole
- 2 cups chicken broth (water or vegetable stock)
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves
- 1 dash sea salt
- sour cream or grated mozzarella or crumbled feta
- 2 cups water (if 2 cups of broth)
- -- alternate liquid --
- 4 cup water or vegetable broth
- Carbohydrate 14.4907025 g
- Cholesterol 1.225 mg
- Fat 1.245265 g
- Fiber 3.74012507653236 g
- Protein 4.9877375 g
- Saturated Fat 0.440885 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (715g)
- Sodium 1659.8435 mg
- Sugar 10.7505774234676 g
- Trans Fat 0.337745 g
- Calories 77 calories
Step-by-step
- Bring kabocha squash, onion, and garlic to a boil in 4 cups of water or stock. Simmer at a low boil until squash is completely soft, about 15 minutes.
- Mash the squash, onion, and garlic with a potato masher in the soup pot. Add the spinach and cook for just a couple more minutes. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper.
- Garnish with organic sour cream, mozzarella cheese, or crumbled feta.
Operating under a strict thirty-minute preparation limit requires ingredients that soften rapidly without intensive pre-chopping. Kabocha squash possesses a dense, starch-heavy flesh that yields to boiling liquid within fifteen minutes once cut into one-inch chunks. Leaving the garlic cloves whole allows them to mellow into a sweet, savory paste during the simmer rather than burning or dominating the broth. Mashing the solids directly in the pot instead of transferring them to a blender preserves a rustic, thick texture with distinct fiber strands.
Starch-heavy purees demand structural contrast from accompaniments to prevent palate fatigue. Serving this soup over cooked bulgur wheat introduces nutty, chewy grains that absorb excess liquid and provide a counterpoint to the velvety squash base. Alternatively, crusty rustic bread offers a porous vehicle for soaking up the broth. High-fat dairy garnishes such as crumbled feta or sour cream react with the natural sugars in the squash, neutralizing excess sweetness through lactic acid and salt content.
Acidity management is critical when finishing the dish. Because kabocha contains significant natural sugars, adjusting the sea salt and black pepper at the very end sharpens the overall flavor profile. Stirring baby spinach into the hot pot for precisely two minutes prevents the leaves from turning drab and drab-green while wilting them sufficiently into the mixture.
Stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, this soup maintains quality for up to four days. Reheating should occur over medium-low heat on the stovetop with an additional splash of water or stock, as the starch molecules continue to bind liquid and thicken the base during storage.
