kabocha-yuzu soup

All gone!

 You can't argue with an empty bowl. Or multiple empty bowls. 

(And do you like our 100-yen store tissue box cover? If you live in Japan, it's almost a requirement. Now that I've acquired one this time around, I feel as if my homemaking is complete.)

You could Westernize this by substituting regular pumpkin and lemon, lime, or orange juice (or a combo) instead of yuzu and leaving out the daikon. I wouldn't replace it with any other kind of radish. Click the link below for the full recipe. I served this with homemade hamburgers (no buns) with chopped green onion, garlic, almond flour, soy sauce, pepper, and cooking sake, cooked and topped with a red miso sauce and grated daikon radish.

You'll need: 

• 1 whole kabocha (Japanese pumpkin), chopped and deseeded, but not peeled
• 2 leeks, white and green parts, thinly sliced
• 2-inch piece of daikon radish, peeled and chopped
• 6 cloves garlic
• olive oil
• 1 t. dried thyme
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 3 sage leaves
• about 1 t. rosemary leaves
• 5 c. water
• about 1 t. bouillon paste (or a couple of stock cubes if you have them)
• salt and pepper to taste
• milk of your choice (we use soy in Japan because we can't get almond)
• 1 yuzu (Japanese citrus), juiced 

Do this:

Saute the veggies in olive oil in a big stockpot for a few minutes (no need to soften completely), then add the water, herbs, salt and pepper, and bouillon paste. Simmer till everything is tender, then blend with an immersion blender or a regular one. Add in enough milk to make it creamier (I used about a cup or so), and make sure it's warmed through. For some final je ne sais quois, stir in the yuzu juice and taste for seasonings.

The creaminess of the kabocha, the hit of garlic, and the very Japanese citrus flavor of the yuzu work great together.

Itadakimasu!