Denver Green Chili

Recipe of the Week - 10/27/10 Squash & Chile Soup

I specifically made the low-fat version of this. It was
good, but over the next couple days grew on me
and I will definitely make it again and again. The
richer version is definitely more elegant and is
probably what I would serve for company.

This could be made with just about any winter
squash or pumpkin. I made it with a zucchetti squash
because that's what I happened to have. Mike, a
friend of mine, gave me this squash from his garden.
His zucchini and spaghetti squashes cross-pollinated
and this was the result. It was memorable - 3 1/2
feet long and over 6 pounds. It looked like a giant
zucchini but with yellow stripes instead of grey-green
and tasted much like an acorn or butternut; it was
not stringy. The shell was hard as a rock, so I hacked
it into big chunks and steamed them; then I scooped
out the meat and basically skipped step 2.

Squash & Chile Soup

(Low-cal, low fat version)
Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup diced onion (about 1 onion)
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup diced green chiles
4 cups peeled, seeded, and cubed squash (butternut
  or acorn) - about 2 lbs.
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon white sugar
salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup yogurt
1/2 tsp thyme

optional: 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Richer version (i.e., high-cal)
Use sour cream instead of yogurt and add 1 12-oz can of
evaporated milk (when you add coconut milk).

Preparation:

1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion
    and ginger; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned
    translucent, about 7 minutes.


2. Add the squash and chicken broth,and bring to a boil over high heat.
    Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the squash is tender,
    about 30 minutes.

3. Stir in the coconut milk, chiles, sugar, salt and pepper. Cook and stir 5
    minutes more. Pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than
    halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel,
    and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup
    moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth, and
    pour into a clean pot. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree
    the soup right in the cooking pot. Ladle into bowls, and garnish with
    yogurt or sour cream and cilantro to serve.


Preparation time: about 45 minutes
Serves: about 6

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Squash Chile Soup
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Zucchetti Squash
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Cut Zucchetti Squash
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Note: For past Recipes of the Week, go to:
http://denvergreenchili.com/weeklyrecipes.aspx

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