A home cooking blogger has shared this gorgeous roasted butternut squash recipe to help keep us warm through the colder autumn and winter months
As autumn rolls in the internet is awash with yummy slow-cooked soups and stews to keep your bellies warm while the weather turns colder.
Many dishes won’t come together until right at the last minute, with some of them only doing so because of their toppings. This roast butternut squash recipe is one of those dishes. The salty taste of feta, fiery chilly and the citrus bite of fresh coriander that is lovingly placed on top will perfectly balance out the sweet silkiness of the soup.
Gem Wade, who shares her recipes on her CookWithGem blog, advised you to make a “huge batch” of the delicious soup before separating it into individual portions so it’s easy to rustle up when you get back from a dreary commute home. Gem explained that she roasts the squash before blitzing it because it helps to “concentrate the flavour” by pushing out the water and caramelising sugars inside it, giving you a “much more robust flavour”. One of her top tips is to leave the squash to cook longer than you think you should because the “dark brown bits are what makes the flavour of the soup so good”.
Many will steer clear of root vegetables like squash because they think it requires a laborious peeling process. But not according to Gem. She advises roasting the squash with its skin on because it helps to retain “precious nutrients” and is “sticky and delicious”. It also cuts down on cooking time.
Ingredients
(6-8 servings)
- Two large butternut squashes
- Two large red onions
- One-and-a-half tablespoons of cold-pressed rapeseed or olive oil. Some will be used to roast the squash while the other part will be used for frying onion.
- Around 1200ml of high-quality vegetable or chicken stock.
- One tbsp fennel seeds
- Sea salt to taste
Recipe
Preheat the oven to 200C (400F).
1. Scrub the squash and leave the skin on before you chop it into one to two inch cubes. Make sure that you use a spoon to scrub out the seeds beforehand.
2. Take a large metal baking sheet and lay out the cubes before drizzling with oil and ensuring good coverage by using your hands. Sprinkle over a teaspoon of sea salt and pop the tray in the oven to roast for around 30-40 minutes until they’re soft with a dark golden colour around the edges.
3. Just before your squash is done, peel and chop your onions into half moons.
4. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan before tumbling in the onion and fennel seeds. Cook for around 5-8 minutes on a medium high heat while making sure to stir well.
5. Once the onion has softened and started to turn sticky, you can chuck in the roasted squash. At this point, it’s worth using a spatula to scrape the flavoursome bits at the bottom of the pan.
6. Pour in enough warm stock to cover the level of the top of the squash before placing a lid on top and turning up the heat to bring it to the boil. Once it’s bubbling, reduce the heat to medium and leave it to simmer for 10-15 minutes.
7. Use a hand blender to purée the mixture. You can also add more stock to ensure you get the correct consistency for your taste.
9. Take a spoon and taste the soup, adjusting with salt. Serve it up and top with crumbled feta, chopped basil or coriander and slices of chilli. Pumpkin seeds or crispy bacon can also be added.
