Curried Wild Rice and Butternut Squash Soup recipe

A couple weeks ago I came across this recipe on allrecipes.com while browsing for something new to do with one of the gazillion butternut squashes I have in the basement. I like curry. I like butternut squash. This sounded right up my alley! And it pretty much was. Here's the recipe with some commentary at the end.

Curried Wild Rice and Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked wild rice

3 cups water

2 1/2 pounds butternut squash- peeled, seeded, cubed

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup orange juice (I used a green apple pureed)

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. In a pot, bring the wild rice and water to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 45 minutes.
2. Place the squash in a medium pot with enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Cook 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain, return to the pot, and mash. Mix in the chicken broth and orange juice.
3. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion and garlic until tender. Season with the curry powder. Reduce heat to low, and continue cooking about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. In a blender or food processor, blend the squash and broth with the onion and garlic mixture until smooth. Return to the medium pot, mix in the cooked wild rice, and cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to serve.

My take: The kids really loved this soup. My almost 1 year old ate a bowl by himself! That's pretty fantastic in my book. As far as my own tastes go, I thought it was a little strong on the orange. I'm not sure if cutting the amount of OJ would temper that or if it'd be better to my palate if I used an apple instead. I also tend to take liberty with curry dishes and jazz them up with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc. You could easily add extras to this as needed- mushrooms may be tasty!

All in all I give it 5 stars and am glad to have found another way to use up the 2 dozen butternut squash in my basement.