Guild Wars 2: Curry Butternut Squash Soup

Just this week, the latest episode of the Living Story came out for Guild Wars 2. I have not spent much time with the game these past few months but I’m really excited to play this next chapter. Last week, a trailer was released and I think it is one of the best that Arenanet has done. Looks like we are going to start contending with Joko and whatever he could be up to with Inquest technology. Each of these living story chapters gives me a reason to come back to the came and boot it up again. I’m also hoping that we get a bit more insight as to what Kralkatorrik has been up to. I’m sure we are going to see it eventually but the sooner the better in my opinion.

I am pretty happy to start using my newest edition to my home instance: the customizable garden plots. Before I stopped playing, they released this item and I had just enough gems to pick it up. I guess I should go adventuring around the world and get the other seeds to have even my options. Have you been using this item in your home instance? If so, let me know what are some of your favorite items to harvest from.

Guild Wars 2 is one of my favorite games to cook recipes from. I have been cooking recipes from the game since I started this blog up five and a half years ago. I love the amount of care the designers and artists took with many of the recipes. Most of the recipes will use ingredients that are pretty close to the real world equivalent and curried butternut squash is no exception. This recipe takes a standard butternut squash soup and infuses it with south Asian flavors. I personally prefer this over the plain old butternut squash soup. The flavors make for such a wonderful taste adventure that I can’t get enough of it. I do recommend enjoying this soup with a nice piece of bread so you can scoop it all up and not leave a drop in the bowl.

Ingredients:
Chili Paste
½ orange bell pepper, chopped
1 lemongrass, chopped
3 scallions, chopped
1 red chili, halved (seeds removed if you don’t want it to be too spicy)
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
5 garlic cloves
5 black peppercorns
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cumin seed
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp sugar
zest and juice of 1 lime

Soup
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, and cut into large cubes
1 onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, grated
2 inch piece of ginger, grated
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cups coconut milk

Garnish
cilantro
lime
scallions

In a food processor, place all the ingredients for the chili paste and pulse until it resembles a thick salsa. Store in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it for the soup. It should be good for up to a week.

Preheat the oven to 400℉. Place the butternut squash on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Toss the butternut squash and bake for another 10 minutes. Set aside until you need it for the soup.

Heat a large pot with a tablespoon of canola oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the curry paste and mix together.

Add the vegetable broth and butternut squash. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow the soup to simmer for 15 minutes.

Transfer all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.

Return the liquid to the pot. Add the coconut milk and heat up the soup. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Serve in a bowl and top with scallions, cilantro, and a lime.