I got a really fancy blender for Christmas, so I’ve been making a lot of pureed soups these days. Given the cold winter nights, though, pureed root vegetable soups are perfect – warming and satisfying without being heavy or overly filling. This Thai-style soup has a nice amount of heat from the chiles and sweetness from the coconut milk.

A good garnish – which I didn’t do but occurs to me now, having done it before with other squash soups – is to toast the squash seeds in a little oil and then sprinkle them over the top, along with the sriracha, cilantro, scallion, and olive oil.

Ingredients

1 butternut squash

cooking spray (or vegetable or canola oil)

1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons peeled, chopped ginger

1 stalk lemongrass, tough outer layers removed, bottom inch and tapered top removed, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups coconut milk

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 small Thai bird chiles (or 1 serrano chile), halved, seeds removed if you want less heat

1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (or 3/4 teaspoon table salt)

3/4 cup water

cilantro leaves, finely chopped scallion, olive oil, and sriracha as garnish

Method