Butternut squash and garlic soup

Butternut squash and garlic soupJuan Carlos Cordovez-Mantilla

It couldn’t get any simpler than this warming winter soup; most of the work is done in the roasting oven, all you need to do is add some hearty homemade stock and cream, blitz it, and serve.

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1 large butternut squash, halved lengthways and seeds removed
  • 2 red onions, halved
  • 1 bulb garlic, halved
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 litre good quality hot chicken/vegetable stock
  • 100ml cream

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 200ºC/gas mark 6.
  2. Put the squash, onions and garlic, cut side up, on a large baking sheet and drizzle over the oil and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast uncovered for 30–45 minutes or until completely cooked.
  3. Remove from the oven and scoop out the squash flesh into a soup blender. Remove the skin from the onions and pop out the garlic cloves from their skins and add into the squash.
  4. Pour in the hot stock and blend until smooth. Add in the cream and blitz again.
  5. Pour into a saucepan to heat through to piping hot and serve in warmed bowls.