Make Le Colonial’s kabocha squash soup at home
When I see pumpkin soup on a menu, I usually have to stifle a yawn. The bowl of orange purée warmed by baking spices has become a victim of the pumpkin-spice craze — a good soup caught up in inevitable holidaytrend backlash.
So forgive me that I didn’t register enthusiasm when Le Colonial, the posh French-Vietnamese restaurant in River Oaks District, sent out some Kabocha squash soup to sample recently. I ground my teeth anticipating a Starbucks version of a winter gourd soup.
Oh, how wrong I was. Le Colonial’s lush potage was a velvety humdinger bright with ginger and Thai chile flavor softened by a rich slosh of coconut milk. Kabocha, a Japanese variety of winter squash, takes to oven roasting like a tonic. Sweet, meaty and pretty in its pop of fireball orange/yellow, the squash makes for an outstanding soup base, especially when curry fireworks are at play.
Le Colonial’s vivid winter soup is one of more than a dozen new items on its menu — all bearing the mark of a collaboration between culinary director Nicole Routhier and new executive chef Hassan Obaye. Routhier’s expert ways with Vietnamese foods braided with Obaye’s classical approach, colored by an appreciation for his native Moroccan flavors, have created a fresh sizzle at the restaurant.
Other new menu items include dumplings filled with butternut squash flavored with yellow curry; salmon with lobster coconut sauce and a stir fry of shiitake mushrooms and baby bok choy; roasted lamb chops with curried ratatouille; Shanghai noodles with Bay scallops, Gulf shrimp and a spicy lobster broth; and crispy lacquered duck served with house pickled vegetables.
Obaye, trained in France and employed at Michelin-star restaurants there, recently joined Le Colonial from La Table. He describes his style as “classic in fundamentals but fun on the plate.”
In this case, the bowl. That kabocha squash soup is a little bit of heaven, and so right for cold days that beg for spicy comfort.