Winter Recipe - Homemade Butternut Soup!

With Winter approaching fast here in South Africa, we decided to ask our chef, Owen, for his best soup recipe so that we can share it with all of you!

If there is just one soup you make this month, absolutely make it this one. There’s something a little magical about this recipe, I guess or you could also just say alarmingly easy to eat bowl after bowl after bowl.

Ingredient List

• 1 large butternut squash, halved vertically* and seeds removed
  1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  ½ cup chopped onion
  1 teaspoon salt
  4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
  1 teaspoon maple syrup
  ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  3 to 4 cups vegetable broth, as needed
  1 to 2 tablespoons butter, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1.Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the butternut squash on the pan and drizzle each half with just enough olive oil to lightly coat the squash on the inside (about ½ teaspoon each). Rub the oil over the inside of the squash and sprinkle it with salt and pepper.

2.Turn the squash face down and roast until it is tender and completely cooked through, about 40 to 50 minutes (don’t worry if the skin or flesh browns—that’s good for flavor). Set the squash aside until it’s cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes.

3.Meanwhile, in a large soup pot, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the chopped onion and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often, until the onion has softened and is starting to turn golden on the edges, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, stirring frequently. Transfer the contents to your stand blender 

4.Use a large spoon to scoop the butternut squash flesh into your blender. Discard the tough skin. Add the maple syrup, nutmeg and a few twists of freshly ground black pepper to the blender. Pour in 3 cups vegetable broth, being careful not to fill the container past the maximum fill line (you can work in batches if necessary, and stir in any remaining broth later).

5.Securely fasten the lid. Blend on high (or select the soup preset, if available), being careful to avoid hot steam escaping from the lid. Stop once your soup is ultra creamy and warmed through.

6.If you would like to thin out your soup a bit more, stir in the remaining cup of broth. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil, to taste, and blend well. Taste and stir in more salt and pepper, if necessary.

7.If your soup is piping hot from the blending process, you can pour it into serving bowls. If not, pour it back into your soup pot and warm the soup over medium heat, stirring often, until it’s nice and steamy. I like to top individual bowls with some extra black pepper.

Notes

• Serves 4 people
• Calories Per serving - 154 

Let us know once you've tried our recipe, we would love to hear what you think :) 

All the best 

Chef Owen and The Gardenia Team