Thick Kabocha Soup

Filling and healthy, this soup is good for winter. This recipe uses the Japanese versions of pumpkin and sweet potato which are slightly different from North American varieties. Japanese pumpkin (kabocha) has a really great green skin and the sweet potatoes are yellow with a thin purple skin. You can alter the vegetables according to what's in season and what you can find, but root vegetables work best.

• Preparation Time: 25 mins
• Cooking Time: 18 mins
• Total Time: 43 mins
• Calories: 523 Calories

Ingredients

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ¼ cup cornmeal
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• ½ cup soy milk
• ¼ onion, sliced
• vegetable oil, or as needed
• ½ teaspoon seasoned salt (such as LAWRY'S®)
• 2 cups cubed kabocha squash
• 1 small Japanese sweet potato, sliced

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Combine cornmeal, flour, seasoned salt, and pepper in a bowl. Dredge onion slices in cornmeal mixture.

Step 2

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook breaded onion, turning occasionally until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

Step 3

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add kabocha squash, sweet potato, carrot, garlic, and bay leaf; cook until kabocha squash is tender, about 10 minutes. Drain most of the water; discard bay leaf.

Step 4

Mash kabocha squash mixture with a potato masher, adding soy milk, until mixture is the consistency of a thick soup. Stir in garam masala, salt, and pepper. Garnish with fried onions.