this months recipes

Roasted Butternut Squash and Garlic Soup
21 February 2005

This is an excellent soup to warm you on a cold winters' day!
I have made this soup in a hurry before and left out the roasting of the butternut squash just adding it cubed with the other ingredients and it worked well, although when roasted it does take on a delicious sweet richness.

Serves 6

900g (2lb) butternut squash
40g (1 1/2oz) butter
1 large white onion
350g (12oz) potatoes
1.2 ltrs (2pints) vegetable stock
1 large bulb of really garlicky garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
swirl of single cream to finish

pre-heat oven to 160C/325F/Gas Mark 3

Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out the seeds and discard. Place in a roasting tin and dot with 1oz of butter. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour until softened and caramelising. Place the whole garlic bulb on a piece of tin foil and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap up into a parcel and place in an oven proof dish and roast in the oven for about 40 mins, until soft.

Meanwhile melt the remaining butter and a little olive oil in a large saucepan and gently sweat the chopped onions until caramelised. Add the peeled and chopped potatoes and stock and simmer for about 20 mins until the potatoes are tender.

Allow the butternut squash and garlic to cool a little, then scoop out the flesh from the butternut squash with a spoon. Squeeze the roasted garlic from its skin. Mix all this into the rest of the soup and liquidise. Pour back in to the saucepan and check the seasoning. Add the cream and heat through gently.

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