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Squash Soup with Chili Purée

A roasted squash soup flavored with leeks, ginger, coriander, and chili purée.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Squash Soup with Chili Purée

Oven375°F regular or convection
Time45 to 60 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the squash

  1. Rinse the squash.

  2. Cut the squash in half lengthwise with a large, heavy knife, using a mallet or hammer gently if necessary to force the knife through.

  3. Scoop out and discard the seeds.

  4. Brush the cut surfaces with olive oil.

  5. Place the squash cut side down in a 10- by 15-inch baking pan.

  6. Bake the squash in a 375° regular or convection oven until soft when pressed, 45 to 60 minutes.

  7. Reserve the pan juices.

  8. Scoop the flesh from the peels (about 5 cups) and discard the peels.

Prepare the leeks

  1. Trim and discard the root ends and tough dark green tops from the leeks.

  2. Cut the leeks in half lengthwise and rinse thoroughly under cold running water, flipping layers to release grit.

  3. Chop the leeks.

Make the soup

  1. In a 5- to 6-quart pan over medium-high heat, stir the leeks, garlic, and ginger in butter until the leeks begin to brown, 6 to 7 minutes.

  2. Add the coriander, squash, reserved pan juices, and 5 cups of broth.

  3. Mash the squash with a potato masher.

  4. For a smoother texture, pour the soup into a large bowl, purée in a blender a portion at a time, and return to the pan.

  5. Thin the soup with 1 to 4 more cups of broth if desired.

  6. Cover and heat the soup until steaming.

  7. Add salt and pepper to taste.

  8. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with a dollop of sour cream and a teaspoon or two of chili purée (or a sprinkling of chili powder).

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

670Calories
50 gProtein
44 gFat
20 gCarbs

Counts 11 of 13 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chicken100g cooked165
Vegetable1 tbsp (14g)120
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Yogurt170g plain Greek100
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Pumpkinnot in our table0
Coriandernot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Ginger + coriandertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,505 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  3. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  4. Garlic + coriandertop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Leek + garlictop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together150 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Squash
Provides the bulk, sweetness and creamy body of the soup once cooked and mashed.
Leeks
Soften and brown in butter, adding a sweet, savoury base to the soup.
Broth
Supplies the liquid that thins the purée into a soup of pourable consistency.
Butter
Adds fat and richness and helps the leeks brown in the pan.
Ginger
Adds a warm, aromatic bite that complements the squash.

The step that matters

Brown the leeks until they begin to colour. Browning the leeks in butter builds caramelised, savoury flavour that the sweet squash otherwise lacks. Medium-high heat and constant stirring prevent scorching while the sugars develop.

Swap the leek

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butternut squash, olive, clove, garlic, ginger, butter, coriander):

  1. Kalefits better
  2. Shallotfits better
  3. Welsh onionfits better
  4. Leekthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butternut squash, olive, clove, garlic, ginger, butter, coriander. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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