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Spiced Roasted Butternut Squash & Garlic Soup

Naturally sweet butternut squash is lifted by roasted garlic, cumin, fennel & coriander seeds along with a hint of chilli in this warming soup.

Course Soup, Main Course, Starter, Lunch, Light Meal
Cuisine European
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
  • salt to taste
  • black pepper to taste

For the butternut squash

  • 1 medium butternut squash peeled & chopped into 2cm cubes
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

For the garlic

  • 1 head garlic left whole
  • 1 tsp olive oil

For the soup base

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 medium onions chopped finely
  • 2 sticks celery chopped finely
  • 700 ml vegetable stock

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 220C /200C Fan/ Gas 7

  2. Heat a non-stick frying pan to medium and put in HALF of the coriander, cumin & fennel seeds. Stir over the heat until the seeds start to brown and the aroma rises.

  3. In a pestle & mortar or spice grinder, grind the seeds & put to one side.

For the butternut squash

  1. Put the peeled & chopped butternut squash in a roasting tin in a single layer. Sprinkle over the WHOLE coriander, cumin & fennel seeds, along with 1/4 tsp of the chilli flakes, salt, pepper & 2 tb of olive oil.

  2. Using your hands, mix everything together so that the squash has a good coating of spices & oil. Put in the oven for approx 25 minutes, stirring & turning every 10 minutes to ensure the squash is browned without sticking or burning. When cooked, put to one side.

For the garlic

  1. Slice the top centimetre off the top of the head of garlic and discard. Put the base on a small square of baking foil.

  2. Season with salt & pepper & drizzle with 1 tsp of olive oil. Enclose the garlic in the foil then put in the oven for 25 minutes. Carefully open the foil to check if soft and lightly browned. If not, re-wrap and cook another 5 minutes. When done, set aside to cool.

For the soup base

  1. Heat 1 tb of olive oil in a large saucepan then add the chopped onions & celery. Season with salt & pepper.

  2. Cook over low-medium heat without browning too much for 20 minutes. Add the reserved GROUND spices and cook a further 2-3 minutes until aroma rises. Set aside.

To finish the soup

  1. Add the roasted squash minus any excess oil to the cooked celery and onions.

  2. Scrape out the cooked flesh from the head of garlic and add to the saucepan.

  3. Add 500ml of the vegetable stock, stir, put on a lid and bring to boil. Turn down the heat and simmer until all the veg are soft: approx 12 minutes.

  4. Take off the heat and blend the soup with a stick blender. Add more stock for a thinner soup, blend again then taste and add more seasoning if necessary.

Recipe Notes

To add welcome texture to the soup, top individual bowls with toasted pumpkin seeds and crisp, fried sage leaves:

  • heat 2tb of pumpkin seeds in a non-stick pan for 3-5 minutes, stirring to make sure they don't burn. Take from the pan and set aside.
  • heat some olive oil in a small, deep pan. Throw in the sage leaves and sizzle quickly until crisp: about 30 - 45 seconds. Drain on kitchen towel, sprinkle with salt.
  • sprinkle the seeds and leaves over each bowl just before serving.