This colorful soup uses a Kabocha squash, a variety that is slightly sweet and pairs well with fresh tomatoes and basil, corn, and curry. You can also use other winter squashes. You can serve this chunky with broth, or blended into a smoother consistency.
- 1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
- 2½ teaspoons finely chopped garlic (2 to 3 cloves)
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 5½ cups water
- 4 ribs celery, sliced (about 2 cups)
- 2 cups chopped tomatoes
- 1½ cups corn kernels
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 5 cups peeled, seeded, and cubed kabocha squash (see Notes)
- ½ cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
- Heat 1 tablespoon of water in a soup pot over medium-high heat. When the water starts to sputter, add the onion, and cook while stirring for 3 minutes, adding a little water as needed. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook while stirring for another minute, still adding water as needed.
- Add the 5½ cups water, celery, tomatoes, corn, and curry powder, and stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Add the squash and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until the squash is tender but not mushy.
- Stir in the fresh basil. Serve as is, chunky with broth, or blend a portion (or all) of the soup for a creamier base (see photos below). Eat as is or garnished with additional chopped basil and/or black pepper.
Cutting squash: There are so many different techniques to cut winter squash! Kabocha squash is very hard, so if you have not cooked with it before, you may want to watch a video or two on YouTube to give you some pointers. The skin of Kabocha squash is edible, but I peel it off for this recipe. Because it’s so hard, it’s important to be safe during cutting, so please check out a video first.
Curry powder: I used a medium curry powder, but feel free to use a mild or hot curry powder, depending on your spice preference.
Above: The prepared onion, garlic, and ginger (bottom left).
Above: In step 2, you’ll add tomatoes, corn, celery and curry powder. I cut the tomatoes and celery on the larger side, to match the squash. I like this salt-free, medium curry powder, but use a mild or hot variety if you prefer.
Above: The peeled and cubed kabocha squash, and coarsely chopped basil.
Above: I like a nice, clean cut on all sides of my squash cubes; this shows how I cut a thin layer off of the inner surface (this is optional, of course).
Above: This shows a bowl of the soup after using my immersion blender just briefly in the pot.
Above: This shows a bowl of the soup after blending it all in my Vitamix blender until mostly smooth.
If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please share a comment below or on my Facebook page. If you’d like to print this recipe, use the green “Print” button near the top-right of the recipe. Learn more about the Straight Up Food Cookbook here. Thank you!
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