Kabocha & Shrimp Soup
Serves 4 to 6
At least once a week for dinner, we have soup. Two ways to get the best nutrition into your system is through a raw smoothie or a healthy soup. Soups are great because you can make them up as you go. Look in your fridge and see things that need to be used up, it’s that simple. You can plan ahead, and buy what you need like some of the items for this soup.
This kabocha soup is not difficult to make. It smells, looks, and tastes amazing. If you wanted to, you could make the stock and roast the kabocha the night before. Store it in the fridge and reheat the stock the next day, adding remaining ingredients. In minutes, you have a delicious soup.
Kabocha is a type of winter squash, just like the spaghetti, acorn, and butternut. It is a Japanese variety of the species Cucurbita maxima. It also goes by the name of Kent pumpkin in Australia or the more common name of Japanese pumpkin. It has a strong, sweet, chestnut-like flavor and a moist, almost fluffy texture. It is great roasted and in soups.
Ingredients:
8 cups low sodium vegetable stock or chicken stock
1 2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 cups raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 2lb kabocha squash (roasted see below)
6 cups fresh spinach
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
Cilantro leaves
2 limes, cut into wedges
How to make:
To roast the kabocha squash, preheat the oven to 375°F. Slice the squash in half, and remove the seeds. Slice each half into half inch, thick slices. Take a sheet pan and lightly spray with olive oil. Scatter the squash slices over the pan, and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spray lightly with olive oil, and roast in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until tender. Remember, the rind on this squash is edible.
For the soup, pour the stock into a clean medium size saucepan along with the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and shrimp shells. Place on the stove, and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, and strain the liquid into a clean saucepan. Place on the stove, and add the slices of squash. Cook for 6 minutes.
Add the shrimp and cook for a further 3 to 4 minutes or until cooked all the way through. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed.
Evenly divide the spinach between warm soup bowls. Add the sliced jalapeño. Ladle over the soup. Top with the cilantro leaves and a squeeze of lime juice. Serve.