Acorn Squash Puree Soup with Coconut Milk

Here's an extremely easy way to make a pureed soup that is creamy without having any dairy in it. You can substitute any root vegetable or squash for the butternut squash to make a slightly sweet soup with a bit of asian flair. I am not sure how potatoes would fare, but I am willing to give it a try someday. Try garnishing with fresh green herbs, a squeeze of lemon or lime, and hot pepper sauces for hot/sweet/sour soups that will taste decidedly southeast asian.

1 Whole Acorn Squash split in half and seeded
4 slices ginger, peeled
6 cloves of garlic
1/2 can full fat coconut milk*
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1/2 lemon cut into wedges

Roast the acorn squash, skin side down in a casserole that is just big enough to hold them. Add 1/2 cup water to the bottom of the pan. Place 1/2 the ginger and garlic in each of the cavities in the squash. This will infuse the flavor into the squash as it cooks. Set oven temperature at 375 and cook for 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours checking to see that all the squash is mushy. If there are parts that aren't all the way cooked through, you will end up with a lumpy soup. Let the squash cool and peel the skin off. Save the ginger and garlic to add to the puree. Cut the squash into pieces.
In batches small enough for your food processor, add portions of squash, coconut milk, ginger and garlic. Puree until smooth and souplike. Add water to adjust consistency.
Don't worry if the coconut milk doesn't seem to incorporate into the squash (i.e. there's chunks of white in the yellow) this will work itself out when you reheat it. Puree all of the soup and heat it back up to boiling. Add more cocunut milk if you like your soup creamier. You can add salt and sugar if necessary. Add lemon juice (squeezed from wedges) until the soup lastes slightly lemony.

My favorite way to eat this soup is with cilantro puree (fresh cilantro leaves blended into olive oil) and a squirt of sriracha.

One variation I have made on this soup was with carrots instead of butternut squash. I boiled the carrots until they were tender and used the boiling water to thin the soup as I pureed it. I added a little sugar to bring out the carrot flavor as mature carrots are more bitter than acorn squash. You'll be surprised how much more "carrot" flavor comes out with a small addition of sugar. It also tasted better without any garnishes.

*Always buy full fat coconut milk. Lowfat coconut milk is thinned with water and stabilizers are added. It is better for your wallet to just use less coconut milk and add your own water when necessary.