New Favourite Soup #2

It seems that whenever I open a can of coconut milk I feel compelled to use every last drop and write 2 posts about it. My 3 favourite ways to use it are: smoothies, soups and curries. With this recipe I get to do all three, I know, I'm a culinary genius! I improvised a little with my previous New Favourite Soup, the Curried Coconut Butternut Squash Soup by adding yam and cranking the heat up a little. I love making soups, they are so easy and if you have some experience in the kitchen they can be a lot of fun playing with and changing to make your own. Truthfully, I rarely follow a soup recipe 100% and for that matter any recipe, I guess I have my own flare in the kitchen and I've been doing it for over 30 years so I'm confident in my abilities ;)

This soup is no exception, I had fun experimenting and loved the results!

Spicy Curry Butternut Squash and Yam* or Sweet Potato* Soup

*depending on what you call the orange ones.

1 sm-med butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 sm-med yam* or sweet potato*, peeled, chopped
1 lg carrot, peeled, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil -divided
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1-2 tbsp curry powder
1/8-1/2 tsp cayenne
2-3 C veggie stock
1 C water (optional -depending on your consistency preference)
2/3-3/4 C coconut milk
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400F and put the squash, yam, carrot on a large baking sheet, drizzle on half of the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat veggies, you can add a little more olive oil if needed. spread evenly on baking sheet and roast about 30-40 mins stirring veggies every 15 mins or so. Test for doneness by piercing with a fork, set aside.

In large pot heat up rest of the olive oil and saute the onions until they start to turn golden, about 5-8 mins. Add curry powder and cayenne heat spices for 1 min and add the roasted veggies, stir well with onions and spices. Add stock to cover veggies, using water if more liquid is needed. Bring to a boil and simmer 20 mins, stirring occasionally. Turn heat off and with an immersion blender puree the soup to desired consistency (alternately you could do batches in a blender or food processor). Add coconut milk, stir until well blended and season with salt and pepper to taste. At this point you could add extra stock or water or coconut milk if it's too thick for you. Garnish with fresh lime juice and cilantro. Enjoy!

Not sure if I mentioned yesterday but the coconut milk I buy is Earth's Choice and it's the most delicious brand that I've tried.

drool