It’s been the first genuinely cold day of the year, which
means it’s the perfect day for soup!
1 butternut squash
2tbsp oil plus more for drizzling
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
¼ tsp chilli flakes
½ tsp cumin seeds
900ml chicken stock
2 apples, peeled and grated
100ml plain yoghurt
3tbsp flaked almonds, toasted
Salt and white pepper
The original recipe starts with peeling and cubing the
butternut squash but as it is then going to be roasted, I’m not putting myself through
this torture, and blunting my best knives in the process. Instead I get the boy to cut it in half and then into quarters. He does this in the most macho way
possible with the cleaver. Still, job done. Remove the seeds and the stringy
stuff in the hollow bit. Put in the oven at 190/Gas 5 for around half an hour
or until the flesh is cooked through and soft.
Meanwhile heat the oil and gently soften the onions. Add the
garlic chilli flakes and cumin seeds. The chili flakes are supposed to be
smoked chilli but I can’t find this so am just using a mild Turksih variety
called Pul Biber. Cook off for another 3 minutes, while you peel and grate the
apple. If the almonds aren’t toasted just toss them in a dry skillet for a few
minutes.
Pour in the stock and grated apple. Get the squash out and
it should lift from the skin very easily. Chunk it up and add it to the pan.
Use a wand blender to get this into a smooth soup
consistency. The boy likes soup to be soup and sometimes pumpkin soups are
pretty much baby puree in a bowl, so I add more stock to thin it down if it
needs it. It’s a good job stock usually comes in 1 litre pouches, so there is
some left to top up with, but water would do.
Let it cook for a minute or so and then pour in the yoghurt.
Turn the heat right down so it doesn’t split and add plenty of salt and white
pepper.
Pour into bowls and garnish with the almond slivers and
chilli flakes. I’m actually putting hot chilli flakes on mine and the mild Pul
Biber on the boy’s. Drizzle with olive oil.
No comments:
Post a Comment