Silken Kabocha Bisque

Soup has always been a favorite comfort food, especially when there is a chill in the air. A cup of soup warms your hands and your heart. These soups have both flavor and function. Kabocha contains naturally occurring beneficial pectins, which are polysaccharides that have been shown to have anti-inflammatory and even blood sugar balancing properties. This SuperHero Squash is known around the world for its aphrodisiac effects, however, a chic cheat for this recipe is to swap out the two cups of fresh Kabocha for two cups of frozen butternut squash.

Silken Kabocha Bisque

Sling It Up

Pre-heat oven 365°F/185. Cut the squash in half. Remove the seeds and then sprinkle the flesh with black pepper, black truffle salt and garlic granules. Bake it (flesh down, skin on) on a parchment lined sheet pan until fork tender, about 30-45 minutes.

While it is baking, sauté the onion with the coconut oil and a pinch of truffle salt and black pepper in the bottom of a soup pot (which will ultimately hold the whole soup) until fork tender/translucent. 
Once cooked, transfer to your blender/food processor. A high performance blender works best.  

Once the squash is cooked, scoop the flesh from the skin. Add the two packed cups of squash to your blender and one cup of the water along with the coconut milk, rosemary and spices. Save the half-cup of water to use for smoother blending, if needed. When using a blender, put a towel over the vented lid and blend at a low speed, gradually increasing the speed. Blend on a medium setting until smooth. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the contents back into the soup pot to warm. Thin with additional coconut milk and water if a thinner consistency is desired. 

(optional) Serve with a swirl of pumpkin seed oil and coconut milk on top, and garnish with whole shelled, spiced pumpkin seeds (sold in bags at Whole Foods) and a sprinkle of truffle salt. 

Yields about six, one cup (250ml each) servings.

Gather Up

1 TB Coconut Oil
½ cup (75g) Onion, diced
2 cups (500g) Kabocha Squash, baked
1½ cup (375ml) Water
2 cups (500ml) Coconut Milk
2 tsp (packed) Fresh Rosemary, chopped
(leaves, no stems)
1 tsp Black Truffle Salt or Sea Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Garlic Granules
Spiced, Shelled Pumpkin Seeds (optional garnish)
Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil (optional garnish)

Jing It Up (options)

1 TB Ghee
1 tsp Chaga Powder
1 tsp Maca Powder
2 tsp Pearl Powder
2 TB Collagen Powder

Silken Kabocha Bisque Meal