This soup is absolutely delicious and very versatile. It is a great winter warmer and so rich and creamy . Roasting the butternut squash whole makes it very easy as you save on the fiddle of cutting and peeling. Feel free to play around with the spices and use what you have in your cupboard. Tumeric is a great spice to add to as many things as possible as it as a wonderful anti-inflammatory effect.
As well as serving this as a soup, I also served it the following night in a shallow bowl with some scallops and crispy sage leaves and basil oil, which tasted amazing and a great way of jazzing up the soup to turn it into a more substantial meal.
The Key to a good soup in my opinion is proper chicken stock, a lot of people are put off making chicken stock as they feel they don’t have the time or it is too much effort, but I promise it is soo easy and can just be left alone to simmer for a couple of hours so takes minimum effort. See my ‘chicken stock made easy’ post.
This soup is oozing with health benefits, the Butternut squash gives a good dose of fibre and has decent quantities of potassium, Vitamin B6 and Folate. Its vibrant orange colour is the key to its most noteworthy health perk! A power house of nutrients called carotenoids, which protect against heart disease & cancer they also have an anti inflammatory effect, it contains how amounts of beta carotene which converts on demand to Vitamin A an important antioxidant crucial for the eyes, skin and reproductive system.
- Ingredients
- 1 whole large butternut squash (roasted whole in advance)
- 750ml- 1litre Homemade Chicken or vegetable stock
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 medium sized onion
- 1 dsp coconut oil or ghee
- 1tsp grated ginger
- Good pinch of all or any of the following:
- Curry powder
- Turmeric
- Cumin seeds
- Coriander
- Basil oil (optional)
- 1 packet or bunch of basil
- Good glug of olive oil
- Small pinch of Maldon sea salt
- Roast the butternut squash whole in the oven at 180 degrees for about 1hr 30, no oil or foil needed just whack it in as it is. You can do this in advance or whenever fits with your day, in this instance I did it the day before.
- Wrap 4 cloves of garlic in foil and roast for 20-30mins in hot oven.
- Whilst that is roasting chop the onion and place in pan with coconut oil, heat until it is lightly sizzling then turn down heat, add all the spices and ginger, give a good stir to coat the onion then put on the lid and cook over a low heat heat.
- Whilst the onion is cooking place your roasted butternut squash on a chopping board, slit it open lengthways, the knife should just glide through the soft flesh. Scoop out all the flesh, discarding the seeds or setting aside for later use. Add the flesh to a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
- Keep checking the onion ideally you want it to be translucent with the edges very lightly browned, this gentle caramelisation will add amazing flavour, however make sure the pan does not get too hot and the spices don’t burn.
- When the garlic is ready remove from the oven and squeeze out the soft roasted garlic, add it straight to the pan.
- Add the butternut squash flesh and give it all a good stir.
- Next add the chicken stock you may want to start with 500ml to get an idea of consistency you can also add more later.
- Bring to a gentle boil then add the whole contents of the pan to a blender and blend on high until completely smooth.
- Check consistency it should be not too thin and not to thick add more stock if required.
- Taste and check seasoning.
- For the basil oil, add all the basil leaves to a food processor turn on power and gently drissle the olive oil keep blending until it is is the right consistency, season with small amount of sea salt.
- To serve place the soup in a bowl drissle with basil oil and top with pumpkin seeds.
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