Autumn…the best time of year to start making some heart-warming soup for when those cold gloomy nights start to draw in. With Halloween approaching and pumpkin carving high on the agenda, why not try and make some squash soup of your very own.
With this recipe you can swap out the standard Butternut squash and use any type out there, each having their own flavour and colour. Don’t forget you can keep back those seeds aside and roast them for small snack or to add to your soup for that added extra crunch.
Here is a step-by-step guide to preparing and cooking this autumnal soup dish:
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 1kg squash
- 200g butter
- 700ml vegetable stock or chicken stock
- 150ml double cream
- Parsley , finely chopped ( optional )
- Salt and pepper to season
- Tin foil for roasting.
Toasted Seeds
When scooping out the seeds from the squash/pumpkin, keep them to one side and clean them up for use later on.
Preparing & Cooking your Squash Soup:
- Pre heat the oven to 185c
- Using a brown chopping board and chef knife carefully cut the squash length ways in half, using a table spoon scrape out the seeds and place into a bowl for later.
- Now you will need to score the squash making a cross in its flesh. Once done add a small knob of butter and season. Place then the seasoned squash into some tin foil and wrap tightly and place onto a roasting tray. Then carefully put the tray into the oven and bake for 30-40min or until the squash feels soft once poked with a wooden spoon.
- As the squash is in the oven, you can start on the seeds. Carefully remove the seeds from the pulp and place onto a roasting tray, toss in some olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Then you can roast them in the oven till golden brown. Cool and use later on to garnish your soup.
- Once the squash is done, remove from the oven and be careful not to burn yourself. I find it is best to remove the flesh whilst it’s still hot. So being careful, remove the foil and using a table spoon, scoop out the flesh and place into a bowl.
- When you are ready with this, you can carefully dice the onion and fry till translucent.
Top Tip; “this is the best time to start seasoning your soup as you don’t want to add to much salt last minute and the soup only tasting like salt”.
- As the onions soften you can add in your squash flesh and stir till combined. Then add in the stock as required and bring to the boil.
Top Tip; “when adding your stock, be sure to add the right amount, just enough to cover the contents, you can always add more later on if needed.”
- Bring the pan to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes.
- Lastly using either a hand blender or blender. Blitz the contents until smooth. Then checking the seasoning of the soup to your liking, you can serve up the soup in bowls and sprinkle the toasted seeds on top along with some chopped parsley if desired.
The art of creating delicious seasonal vegetable soups develops skills learnt by apprentices when working towards an Apprenticeship Level 2 in Craft Cuisine & Professional Cookery and covers preparing and cooking of a range of vegetables. For more information about Apprenticeships contact Cambrian Training Company at cambriantraining.com or Tel: 01938 555893.
