The Sultan's Soup

I call this the Sultan’s Soup because it is incredibly luscious, fit for a sultan so to speak. It’s my favorite kitchen sink soup, i.e. made with ingredients I have on hand with no recipe in mind.  

While this recipe makes a big stock pot of soup, I don’t recommend cutting this recipe in half. This soup tastes better the second or third day, and freezes well.

Omit linguica if you don’t have it handy or you’re vegetarian.  Omnivores can certainly sub another lean spicy sausage. Elsewise, you may want to add sriracha to counterbalance the natural sweetness of the kabocha.

Don’t have kabocha? I’m sorry. Yes, you can use any winter squash, but it won’t be the same, imho.

P.S. sorry for yet another cruddy pic. not a food stylist or photog. but I am a damn good cook.

Sultan's Soup
Ingredients

1 kabocha squash, thinly sliced and cut into 2-3” bits

Optional: 2 slices smoked applewood bacon, cooked and chopped.

1 red onion,  minced

2 T. olive oil

5 cups broth (chicken or veggie)

1-2 fresh (not pickled) jalapenos, minced

1 cup potato (I used garlic-braised fingerling potatoes leftover from the previous night’s dinner)

Fresh chopped herbs: Italian flat leaf parsley, cilantro (1/3 c. each)
Optional: 1/2 t. za'atar *

1/2 c uncooked red quinoa

1 can coconut milk

½ cup heavy cream

1 c. sliced linguica

Optional: dash of sriracha

Garnish with sliced scallions and cilantro

Directions

1. Slice the veggies. 
2. Saute the red onion in olive oil until it glistens.
3. Cook the smoked bacon separately and drain.
4. Add the veggies, linguica, quinoa, and broth to a stock pot and let the soup simmer until the squash and taters are tender.
5. At this stage, use a pastry blender to break up the squash. You could use a hand blender, but I prefer to preserve the texture of the quinoa and veggies as much as possible.
6. Add bacon, fresh herbs, coconut milk and cream. Let simmer on your lowest heat for 5-10 more minutes and then taste the broth. If it’s too sweet (totally depends on the kabocha), spice it up with a dash or more of sriracha.
7. Before serving, top with more chopped cilantro and scallions.
8. Mangia!

 It’s divine, right?  

* Za'atar is a middle eastern spice blend made with thyme, sesame seeds and sumac. I order online.