Calabaza Purée with Roasted Cinnamon Oil
Page 99 of Horizons: New Vegan CuisineIf you haven't tried calabaza yet, then now is the time! Calabaza is a Caribbean pumpkin with a texture and taste resembling butternut squash. Calabaza is plentiful in the Caribbean islands as well as Central and South America, and it is becoming increasingly available in northern climates. Make sure to save the seeds and roast them like you would pumpkin seeds—they're a great snack or an additional garnish for the soup. Substitute butternut squash for the calabaza if you'd like.
Ingredients
This recipe yields four to six servings as an entrée, or six to ten servings as an appetizer.
Roasted Cinnamon Oil
- 3 cinnamon sticks rubbed with canola oil
- ½ cup additional canola oil
Soup
- 2 qt. vegetable stock
- 6 cups calabaza, roughly chopped with skin and seeds removed
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp ginger, peeled and chopped
- 2 tbsp. Latin Spice blend (page 26, reproduced here)
- 2 tsp. sugar
- 4 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 2 cups coconut milk
Directions
Make the Roasted Cinnamon Oil
- Roast oil-coated cinnamon at 500°F for 15 minutes.
- Steep the hot cinnamon sticks in the ½ cup of canola oil for at least 45 minutes.
- Add dashes of salt and sugar as desired for a more pronounced flavor.
Make the Soup
- In a large pot, bring all ingredients—except the coconut milk—to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk and remove from heat. Let rest for at least 5 minutes.
- In small batches, carefully purée in a blender, or use and immersion blender to puree into a creamy liquid.
Put it all Together
- Pour soup into cups and drizzle (or "float") cinnamon oil on top.
Latin Spice Blend
We custom blend our spices at the restaurant, and the following recipe is very similar to what we use. If you don't want to go to the trouble of mixing them, by all means buy a pre-blended mix from the market. Just make sure that salt isn't the first ingredient, which is usually the sign of a lower quality mix.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. paprika
- 1 tbsp. cumin
- 1 tbsp. granulated onion
- 1 tbsp. granulated garlic
- 1 tbsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. black pepper
- 2 tsp. thyme
- 2 tsp. oregano
- 1 tbsp. ground dry chile of your choice (chipotle, ancho, cayenne, etc.)