Thai Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

This is a great soup and definitely not your traditional squash soup. I made it this Thanksgiving as the first course. I like to add a non traditional dish or new twist on a classic dish for traditional meals like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This soup does take awhile to make, so I like to make a large amount and freeze it to make it worth while. It also is great if you have a helper!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegtable oil
1 leek sliced
2 onions chopped
8 cloves garlic cruched (or more if you are like me!)
1/4 cup coarse chopped ginger
2-3 chilis finely chopped (I have used dried chili flakes instead)
1/2 cup dried coconut
1 kg seeded chopped butternut squash
3 lemons (finely shred off some of the rind before juicing the lemons)
1/4 cup brown sugar
50 gms shrimp paste
1 cup chopped coriander or cilantro
1 litre chicken or veggie stock

For garnish:
toasted shredded coconut
sliced green onion

Heat the oil in a sauce pan (large wok works well too). Cook the leek, onion, garlic, ginger and chilis over medium heat until they soften. Cover for 5 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, the let simmer for 25 minutes. (or squash is tender, you can shorten this time by cooking the squash in the oven ahead of time but that adds another step)Blend this mixture in small batches, blend until smooth. At this point you can taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. If it is really thick you might want to add more broth, too bland add more garlic and chilis. If you feel the need to add salt, use sea salt.

Serve in individual bowls with toasted coconut and green onions as the garnish.

(this recipe serves 8-10 people)