Butternut Squash Soup

As I've said, I'm doing a lot of baking and cooking with seasonal ingredients and though I can't eat the soup due to this diet I'm on, I still like making it and those who have eaten it state it is amazing. It's a bit different to the sorts of recipes of soup you might be used to and it took me about 1-2 hours to perfect (that is with the cooking time). I hope you enjoy this little step-by-step. I'll list all of the ingredients first so you can get them together before you start...

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

• 1x butternut squash
• 2x espresso-sized shots of single cream
• 1x diced red onion
• 1x tsp butter
• 1x tsp salt
• 850ml vegetable stock
• 1x tbsp turmeric
• 1x tbsp red chilli powder
• 1x tbsp ground coriander
• 1x tbsp cornflour
• 2x tbsp ground black pepper
• 3x tbsp crushed garlic

Alright then, so let's have a look at how to do this in a series of steps. It isn't that hard but the recipes I found on the internet don't really add flavour like this one. As a woman of Indian descent, I have a want to add spices to things. I couldn't really think about serving something like this without a kick or a punch in it.

How To:

1: The Butternut Squash

Preheat your oven to 200/C

Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and lightly salt - very lightly salt

Peel your butternut squash and chop into thumb-sized pieces. The smaller you chop these, the less time they will take to soften in the oven

I put mine in the oven for 2 sets of 15 minutes, turning them so they don't burn from one side and making sure the salt on the greaseproof paper is spread across everything

Take them out of the oven and put them to one side, make sure they have softened up completely. They should feel as if they may turn to mash if you push them down with the back of a spoon

2: The Soup Mixture

1. Grab a pot and melt the butter in it - make sure you don't burn the butter so I recommend a low heat (I'd like you to guess what happened the first time).
2. Add your diced onion, your garlic and all of your spices including the coriander, salt and pepper
3. Put in about one shot of cold water and allow the onions to soften for about ten minutes. Put the lid on the pot and turn it down to a simmer. Every now and again, stir the mixture to take a look at the consistency
4. Once the onions are browned and softened, add the butternut squash and continue to soften them together for about 5-10 minutes, making sure the spices are mixed entirely into the squash - it should also turn to mash
5. After this, add the stock and the cornflour and cream and mix some more. Once everything has been mixed together, grab a hand blender and blend it all together - it should turn to soup!
6. Once it is soupified, simmer on a low heat for another 5-10 minutes and then it should be ready to enjoy...

Conclusion

I'm grateful for soup because it is such a versatile dish. There's something about making it that is very therapeutic. It uses very few dishes and most of it is made in one pot. If you're feeling adventurous you could sprinkle some basil atop your dish and make it all warm and herby. Butternut squash soup smells fantastic too so you can make your house smell just like autumn. Welcome to Halloween, guys!