About a week ago, I was browsing around at the farmers market when this deep orange squash caught my eye.  I had never seen one like

it before, so I inquired.  “It’s called a red kuri squash, and the flavor is similar to that of a pumpkin” the man behind the booth told me.

“Whoa”, I responded.  “I have to try it”.

Since then, I have been admiring this kuri squash in my basket of fruits and veggies that I keep on a counter in my kitchen.  Last night, after discussing dinner options with Amy, I decided that I would turn this kuri squash into a soup.

I searched around for some recipes, and I found one that I tweaked to my own liking.

You will need:

1 kuri squash, peeled, and diced

½ medium onion, coarsely chopped

2 cloves of garlic

1 piece of fresh rosemary (or a bay leaf)

1 fennel bulb, cored and cut into this wedges

½ cup of chopped, toasted pecans

Olive oil (about 1 tablespoon)

1 pinch cayenne

1 pinch turmeric

Preheat your oven to 375˚.

Begin by cutting your kuri squash in half and cleaning it as you would a pumpkin, removing all of the seeds and stringy flesh.  If you like pumpkin seeds, try cleaning and roasting these seeds… I hear that they are pretty great.

Peel your squash, and cut it into cubes.

Add the squash, onion, garlic, rosemary and some salt to a large saucepan along with 2 cups of water.  Bring the water to a boil, and then cover and simmer over low heat until the squash is tender, about 20 minutes.

Next, place the fennel wedges on a baking sheet (covered with parchment paper to save a messy clean up) and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Toss well.  Roast the fennel for about 25 minutes, until the fennel is tender and beginning to brown.

Roasted fennel, just out of the oven.

When the squash is finished cooking, discard the twig of rosemary and working in batches, puree the soup in a blender.  Return the soup to a saucepan to keep it warm.  When the soup is fully blended, add the pinch of cayenne and turmeric, and more salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the roasted fennel, toasted pecans, and a drizzle of olive oil.

The soup can keep in the fridge.

The finished product.

The night was a big success.  Amy and I were incredibly excited about how the soup came out, and LOVED the roasted fennel and pecans. Yum!

with love and squash,

Amanda