When I was a kid, I hated soup. I don't know why-- but I thought it was the most boring and unappetizing thing. Surprisingly, over the years it has become one of my favourite things to both eat and cook!
I love the easiness of making soup; there's really very little work involved, and you end up with something that warms the body and the soul ✧
Today, as the first recipe on this blog, I thought I would share one of my favourite soup recipes! This kabocha and mushroom soup is very simple, and very delicious. The kabocha is the main star of this delicately flavoured soup-- if you're not familiar with kabocha, it's a Japanese pumpkin which has tender green skin and soft, slightly sweet orange flesh. The skin is actually edible, and makes the perfect textural addition in this soup. The gently sweet flavour of the kabocha goes well with the earthiness of the mushrooms, making this a very cosy and yummy soup!
Kabochas are my favorite sort of gourd, and it's difficult to think of anything that would make a perfect subtstitute for them-- however if you are unable to find it, you could also use butternut, calabaza, or delicata squashes.
This recipe doesn't take too long to put together, so I hope you are able to try it!
Let's begin ♡
✧ Ingredients ✧
✧ 1/2 of a medium-sized kabocha squash (mine weighed approximately 0.7 kg after removing the seeds)
✧ 8 oz. mushrooms (I used a combination of beech mushrooms and baby bella mushrooms for this, because I love the different textures that they have! Oyster mushrooms are also good in this soup, and they have a texture similar to beech mushrooms. However, if you can only find one variety of mushrooms, don't worry-- the soup will be just as good!)
✧ 1 small onion
✧ 1 tablespoon olive oil
✧ 2 cups of vegetable bouillon (I use a concentrate that you just dissolve in water to make the stock-- it's very convenient, and much more space-efficient than ready-made stock!)
✧ 1 cup of soy milk (you could really use any type of milk-- vegan or not. I've made this with whole milk in the past but honestly I prefer soy because of the slightly thicker texture and the gentle sweetness, which goes well with the kabocha!)
To start, begin by prepping the kabocha. This is the most annoying step of the recipe-- everything is easier after this!
First, you will want to scoop out the flesh. This is easily done just by using a spoon~
Since I like some kabocha skin, but not too much, I cut off the skin in certain places using my kitchen knife. You could also leave all of the skin on, or remove all of it, it's up to you! However, if you do leave some skin on, please remember to thoroughly wash the kabocha!
Afterwards, cut into ~1 inch slices
And then cut the pieces into chunks. Don't worry too much about them being exactly the same-- as long as they are just somewhat uniform, so that they all finish cooking at the same time.
To prepare the rest of the vegetables, dice the onion, and cut the mushroom into bite-sized pieces (for the beech mushrooms, I simply pulled them apart at the base, otherwise leaving the mushroom intact)
Now it's time to start cooking!
In a medium-sized pot, heat the tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute, until they turn slightly translucent.
Then add the mushrooms, along with a generous pinch of salt, and fry for a few minutes until they soften a bit.
Then add your chopped kabocha, and stir everything together, allowing it to cook for a few minutes.
Pour your vegetable stock on top, and bring everything to a boil over high heat.
Once the soup is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot with a lid, and allow it to cook until the kabocha can be pierced with a fork (this takes approximately 15 minutes).
Now, using a fork, smash about half of the kabocha pieces, so you have a half-pureed soup. This really adds to the creaminess of the soup, and makes for a lovely blend of textures!
Lastly, add the soy milk, and stir everything together. You can taste it and add some more salt, or a bit of pepper if you would like. However, I generally don't like adding too much salt, since that distracts a bit from the delicate flavours of the squash and the mushrooms.
Once everything is mixed together, the soup is ready to serve!
This recipe is one of my favourites, and it comes together quite quickly once you have the kabocha chopped!
I hope you get the chance to try this recipe, and that you like it if you do!
Thank you for reading my first recipe on here, and hopefully, I'll be back again soon with another!
Bye-bye for now ♡
