This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
Butternut Squash Soup with Sage & Honey
Ingredients: serves 6
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
3 onions, chopped
2 tbsp chopped sage
1.4kg peeled, deseeded butternut squash – buy whole squash and prepare, or buy bags of ready-prepared
1 tbsp clear honey
1½ litres vegetable stock
bunch chives, snipped, and cracked black pepper, to serve
Drizzle of single cream (optional)
How to prepare:
Melt the oil and butter in a large saucepan or flameproof casserole. Add the onions and sage, and gently cook until really soft – about 15 mins. Tip in the squash and cook for 5 mins, stirring. Add the honey and stock, bring to a simmer and cook until the squash is tender.
Let the soup cool a bit so you don’t burn yourself, then whizz until really smooth with a hand blender, or in batches in a blender. Season to taste, adding a drop more stock or water if the soup is too thick. Reheat before serving, sprinkled with chives and cracked black pepper.
How to prepare a butternut squash:
The skin on the butternut squash is very tough so if you prefer you can pop it in the microwave before you start preparing it for 2-3 mins to make it softer and easier to remove. However, if you’re slow roasting the squash, you can leave the skin on as it is edible and gets softer when baked.
Points to remember:
Hold the squash steady on your chopping board and use a sharp knife to trim off the top and bottom.
Next, split the squash in half at the point where the long “neck” section meets the round base section.
If you want to remove the skin you can either use a Y shaped or swivel blade vegetable peeler or a knife.
Once the skin has been removed cut the base section in half to expose the seeds and scoop them out using a spoon.
You can now slice the prepared butternut squash into wedges, chunks or small cubes, depending on your recipe.
Recipe Tip:
AS A CANAPÉ – Try serving this soup in individual espresso soups with pancetta dipping soldiers
More soup recipes here