Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

• 1 x medium sized butternut squash (diced)
• 2 x medium sized onions (peeled and thinly sliced)
• 2 x garlic cloves (finely diced)
• 1½ litres vegetable stock (hot)
• 1 x dessert spoon coriander seeds (crushed and sieved)
• 2 tbsps vegetable oil pinch of salt

Utensils

• 1 x large heavy bottomed saucepan
• 1 x wooden spoon
• 1 x vegetable peeler
• 1 x sharp knife
• 1 x hand blender or liquidiser
• 1 x mortar and pestle
• 1 x sieve

Method

1. Peel the hard skin from the squash, a potato peeler should do the trick.
2. Cut the peeled squash into cubes, but not too big (about 5 cm square) and discard the seeds (unless you want to roast and nibble them), and the stringy fibre.
3. Peel the onion and thinly slice
4. Using a large heavy bottomed saucepan put in 2 dessertspoons of vegetable oil and put the pan on a low heat.
5. Add the onions and pumpkin to the pan and cook slowly (this is called “sweating”) for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
6. Chop the peeled garlic cloves finely and add to the pan. Continue cooking for a further 5 minutes, stirring to prevent the vegetables sticking and burning on the bottom of the pan.
7. When the vegetables have cooked for 20-25 minutes in total (this guarantees that all the flavours are extracted and you have a creamy soup) add the hot vegetable stock to the pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for at least a further 15 minutes.
8. Take the pan from the heat and using a hand blender or liquidiser pulverise the vegetables and the stock until you have a lovely creamy liquid.
9. Put the soup back into the saucepan and back on the heat and bring the soup to the boil. Taste (remember it is hot!) and add a small amount of salt / black pepper if you think it needs seasoning.
10. Crush the coriander seeds in a pestle and mortar and sieve onto a plate to get rid of the husk (the skin on the outside).
11. Pour your hot soup into bowls and sprinkle the coriander on the top.
12. Serve with your favourite bread.

Chef’s Tips

The skin on a squash is sometimes very difficult to peel. If you find it impossible put a couple of medium sized squashes rather than the single peeled one into a moderate oven (180ºc) wrapped in cooking foil and cook it for about one hour and then take it out of the foil and cut it in half and scoop the flesh out using a spoon. Add this squash pulp to the onion and garlic mix that you have sweated off and add the stock to this. Make sure you add any juices from the squash to as this has heaps of flavour

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