Christmas Menu: The Soup

We have now arrived to the most exiting part of the Christmas series: The food!

As a mixed child with one fork in French culture and one chopstick in Vietnamese culture, I can’t say that my family has any particular “Christmas” foods. Every year we eat delicious food depending on our inspiration all together with no specific dish reserved for Christmas.

This is why I bring you a slightly nontraditional Christmas menu. You won’t find any fake turkey or meatballs. You will, however, find delicious, spicy, and fun to share food.

As a start, let me present you the Indian style Kabocha soup. This is a perfect winter soup as the squash is in season, and the spices will warm you up. This is quite simple to make, but will impress your guests with the smoothest texture and most exciting flavours around.

Kabocha squash or Japanese pumpkin is very nutty and smooth which makes it perfect for soups. If you haven’t tried it yet, I suggest you run to your local Asian market as it is perfect not only for savory but also sweet recipes.

Here is what you need:

• 1 Kabocha squash, seeds removed
• 2 zucchini squashes
• 2 medium sized sweet potatoes
• 2 inch piece of ginger, cut in half
• 1 tbs of curry powder
• 1 tsp of coriander seeds
• 1 tbs of marmite (the British seasoning) or one cube of vegetable stock
• 1 tsp of turmeric powder
• 1 garlic clove
• salt to taste

Here is what you do:

1. Cut all the vegetables in cubes. If you want your soup to be very orange and extremely smooth, peel them. I kept the skins of mine on because I like the extra nutrients they brings.
2. In a large cauldron, put all your vegetables, ginger and garlic, and cover them with water. I added around 2.5 liters.
3. Cover and let come to a boil on maximum heat. Then, bring down the heat to a medium, and let simmer uncovered until the vegetables are easily poked through with a fork.
4. Turn off the heat and add the spices, marmite and salt. Mix well and adjust to your taste. It is a good idea to mix the marmite or vegetable stock cube in a separate bowl with a few spoonfuls of the cooking water before adding it to the soup. This will ensure that everything is well mixed in.
5. Mix with a hand mixer until all the vegetables are smooth.
6. Serve with toasted bread and garnish with pumpkin seeds.

This is extremely simple to make and can do its own thing while you are tending more complicated dishes. The spices really make this soup special, and the ginger makes it perfect for winter.

Let me know if you try it out and what you thought of it! Come back too for the rest of my Christmas menu.