What are the health benefits of kabocha?

Kabocha's bright orange flesh is an excellent source of fibre, vitamin A, vitamin C, and smaller amounts of of calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and some B vitamins. A single serving of kabocha squash gives you 70% of your daily recommended vitamin A! This is great for healthy skin, hair, and vision.

How do you know when a kabocha squash is ripe?

A suitably ripe kabocha will be deep green in colour, hard, and feel quite heavy.

Kabocha Squash Soup

Name: Kabocha Squash Soup
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 1/4 kabocha squash (about 500g); 1/2 medium onion; 1 tablespoon (14.2g) butter; 350 ml beef broth; 350 ml whole milk; kosher salt, to taste; freshly ground black pepper, to taste; drizzle of cream; chopped fresh parsley

Kabocha Squash Soup

4.9 from 10 reviews

Author: Asha
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 4 Servings 1x
Category: Soup
Cuisine: Japanese

Description

This quick and easy, Japanese kabocha squash soup is creamy, rich, and flavourful. It highlights the naturally sweet and nutty flavour of the seasonal winter squash in a velvety smooth and silky broth.

Ingredients

Scale

1/4 kabocha squash (about 500g)

1/2 medium onion

1 tablespoon (14.2g) butter

350 ml beef broth

350 ml whole milk

kosher salt, to taste

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Garnish:

drizzle of cream

chopped fresh parsley

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Instructions

Cut the kabocha in half, then cut one in half again to get a quarter. Kabocha is surprisingly hard, so be very careful of your fingers when cutting it.

Remove the seeds from your quarter of kabocha, then wrap it in plastic wrap. Microwave it for 4 minutes to soften the squash and make it easy to remove from the rind. (If you would prefer to make this recipe without using a microwave, see the note at the bottom of the recipe card below).

Be careful handling the hot kabocha. Cut it off of the rind and into roughly equal sized pieces. Set the kabocha pieces aside for now.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and sauté until it begins to soften.

Stir in the kabocha and sauté it with the onion for another minute.

Pour in the broth. Bring the soup just to a boil, then cover it with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Allow it to simmer for 20 minutes.

Using an immersion blender purée the soup. Or, you can use a blender to purée it in batches.

Pour in the milk. Stir while you wait for the soup to get hot. Don't allow it to come to a boil. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Optionally, drizzle with a touch of cream and garnish with chopped fresh parsley. Your Japanese kabocha soup is ready to enjoy! I recommend dipping some warm, crusty bread into it.

Equipment

immersion blender

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Notes

This recipe makes enough soup for 3 servings, or 4 small servings.

Microwave-free preparation:

Start the recipe by slicing the onion, and seeding, peeling, and cutting the kabocha into bite size pieces. Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat, and sauté the onion until it begins to soften. Stir in the kabocha and sauté for another 8-10 minutes until the kabocha is soft. Continue by following along with the above recipe from where you add the broth.