Transfer the soup in batches to a blender and blend at high speed until smooth.
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, fennel, and bay leaf. Cook for 1 minute. Sprinkle with salt, lower the heat to medium, and sweat the vegetables for 5 minutes. Add the squash and potato sprinkle with a little more salt and stir to mix. Sweat for 15 minutes more, stirring from time to time. The vegetables will have started to soften.
Turn the heat up to medium-high and sprinkle the paprika over the vegetables. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute, then stir in the yogurt.
Cook, stirring, over a high-flame until all the liquid in the yogurt boils away. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Cover and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook until you can smash the squash and potato against the side of the pan, about 20 minutes.
Transfer the soup in batches to a blender and blend at high speed until smooth. (Use caution when blending hot liquids - only half fill the vase each time) Return soup to the pan and bring to a simmer. Stir in a little more broth if it is too thick for you. Stir in the butter, if using. Let the soup sit for 5 minutes. Serve sprinkled with parsley.
If kabocha squash (a.k.a. calabasa) is hard to come by in your area stripey oblong delicata squash has a similar mealy texture, but that great kitchen all-rounder butternut squash will do the job perfectly well. The prep time will be even faster if you use pre-cut butternut squash, but pre-cut veggies don't keep. Please use them up within a day of buying.
If using butternut, I would use a medium Idaho baking potato, peeled and diced, instead of a gold potato as its super starchy texture will make up for the creaminess the butternut lacks.
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