Butternut Squash Soup: Back To Basics

Butternut Squash Soup: Back To Basics

Hi. I am Rich Harris and welcome back to my kitchen
for another episode in my back to basics series for videojug. In this episode, I am going to be showing
you my perfect winter warmer. It is my spiced squash soup. So for the squash soup, start off by prepping
the squash itself. Just take the top off and the bottom. Then there are two main parts of the squash. You have got the main kind of neck here and
then the base. So you want to just chop those two in half,
and then using a sharp knife, just peel off the skin, work your way around, and then just
chop it into thick wedges. Just put those on a roasting tray as you go. Now for the base, same again. Just cut around with a sharp knife to get
all of that skin off, and then cut this in half. Take a spoon and scoop the seeds out and just
scoop them straight into a bowl. Do not throw the seeds away because I am going
to use these as a little garnish later on. I am going to take this base and then chop
it into rough chunks about the same thickness as your other pieces as well, just so everything
cooks really evenly, and just do the same again with your other squash. Then take some olive oil. Just give everything a generous drizzle, and
just before these go in the oven, this is another great little tip of how to deal with
garlic. I have got a piece of foil, pop your garlic
in the middle, and then give it a drizzle of olive oil, and just scrunch it up tightly,
and nestle that just in the corner there. That is going to take about the same length
of time to roast and what you are going to end up with is this lovely, rich, sticky,
caramelized roasted garlic. So now all of these go into a hot oven around
170 degrees for about half an hour or just until the squash and the garlic are really
soft. Now now it is time to toast the spices. Cinnamon in, then our cloves, cardamom seeds,
and cumin seeds. Now always keep an eye on spices because they
can burn very, very easily. This is my favorite kind of spice mix to go
with the roasted squash. But for a full list of ingredients, just check
out the description box. So that is ready. Smells really nutty, a little bit smoky. Beautiful. OK. Once you have toasted your spices, it is time
to grind them. So once you have had a good workout and all
of these spices are ground, this is what you end up with. It is really lovely, fragrant spice powder. Because it is such great stuff and we have
got these seeds left over, I am going to sprinkle a bit over the seeds with a pinch of sea salt. Take a baking tray. Spread those out evenly and just pop them
into the oven for about ten or fifteen minutes and they will puff up and they are really
lovely and crisp. So while they are roasting away, we can start
with the base of our soup. So time to fry off some onions and chili. Take a heavy base pain and just heat it over
a medium to high heat, and do not forget that the pain is going to have to accommodate all
of that squash as well, so make sure that it is big enough. Some butter into the pan. So when the butter is foaming, add the onions
and the whole chili. You might think it is a bit odd adding a whole
chili, but this way you can kind of gauge the level of heat later on. Once the chili is cooked, we take it out,
chop it, and keep adding back to gain your right level of heat. So just fry those together for about five
minutes until the onion turns really lovely and soft. Add the spice mix in and fry it for about
another minute or so, just until it is really, really fragrant. Looks like the squash is ready. So add the squash to the pan and now add the
stock. When you are making soup, really good quality
stock is really important and add just enough to just cover the squash. So turn the heat up high. You want to just bring this to a boil and
turn it down and simmer it for about ten minutes. Right. So that has had about ten minutes simmering
away. Everything gets beautiful and soft and it
smells incredible. Now remember that we put this whole red chili
in earlier. We are just going to take that out carefully. So take a liquidizer. Just carefully ladle everything in. So because this soup is quite hot, it is important
not to overfill. Put a tea towel over the top and just in case
anything does splatter up, it is going to stop that from hitting you. Just give that a blitz for a good minute or
two until everything is really smooth. This last stage of the soup add some of the
chili. Now what I do is just chop it up and add the
chili a bit at a time as you blend. Keep having a little taste and just see where
you want your heat level. And then our garlic that we roasted earlier. Cut the very top bit off and give it a squeeze
and all of that beautiful roasted garlic flesh will just fall out. Scoop that up and add it to the soup. And finally, just for a bit of extra richness,
some double cream. Blend it again. And there we go. It smells beautiful. All of those spices and that kind of nuttiness
works really well with that squash. Take a ladle, and then for a final flourish,
I have got some beautiful, soft goat cheese, and this works so well with the butternut
squash. It is salty. It is tangy, and just kind of melts into the
soup as you eat it. And just for a little bit of texture, these
lovely squash seeds that we roasted up earlier. Just a sprinkle over the top, and then finally,
a little bit of extra virgin olive oil. If you have enjoyed this recipe, click the
subscribe button. Follow us on Twitter or come find us on Facebook. Now all that is left to do is to have a little
taste. It is really smooth, creamy. There is a good kick of spice, and that lovely
crunch of those seeds at the end. There you have it. My spiced squash soup. I hope you have enjoyed this recipe and I
look forward to seeing you back in the kitchen again soon for another in my back to basics
series.

With the winter closing in, it’s time for some warming grub! In this episode of Back To Basics, chef Rich Harris shows you how to make a butternut squash soup.

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Ingredients:

2 butternut squash
Olive oil
1 bulb garlic
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
½ stick cinnamon, broken into small pieces
Seeds from 2 black cardamom pods
2 cloves
50g unsalted butter
2 large onions, peeled and finely chopped
1 red chilli
1.2 litres chicken or vegetable stock
150ml double cream
100g soft goats cheese

Step 1: Roast The Squash
Preheat the oven to 170°C. Peel the squash, cut into wedges and scoop out the seeds and any fibres. Separate out the seeds and place into a bowl. Lay the wedges of squash on a roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. Lay the bulb of garlic on a sheet of foil, drizzle with a little oil then close the foil around the garlic and add to the tray with the squash. Roast for 30 minutes or until the squash is tender. Remove from the oven, leave to cool slightly then cut into rough chunks.

Step 2: Prepare The Spices
Meanwhile prepare the spices. Toast the whole spices in a dry frying pan until fragrant then tip into a pestle and mortar or spice grinder. Grind to a fine powder then sprinkle a good pinch of the mixture over the squash seeds, along with a little sea salt. Spread the seeds out over a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes until crisp.

Step 3: Make The Soup
Heat the butter in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Add the onions and whole chilli and fry gently for 5 minutes until the onions are soft. Add the remaining spice mix to the onions, fry for a further minute then add the cooked squash, roast garlic flesh and stock. Bring to the boil then simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the cream and season to taste.

Step 4: Blend
Leave to cool slightly then remove the chilli and roughly chop. Blend in the soup in a liquidiser until smooth and velvety, adding chilli to taste. Serve garnished with a sprinkle of goats cheese and the spiced squash seeds.