Butternut squash soup, a vegetarian recipe

Name: Butternut squash soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: South Africa
Ingredients: 1 kg butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed; 1 onion (150 g), sliced; 1 tart apple (150 g), peeled and diced; 30 g butter; 1 litre vegetable stock labelled gluten free; ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg, plus a little to serve; Salt and pepper; 100 ml single cream, to serve

Method

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and sweat the onion over low heat for 8 minutes without colouring.
Add the butternut and apple, stir, cover and let them soften for 5 minutes, stirring once.
Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until the squash crushes easily under the spoon.
Blend until smooth. Add the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. Loosen with a little water if the soup is too thick.
Serve as a starter, with a swirl of cream and a pinch of grated nutmeg.

In South Africa, butternut squash is often made into soup and served as a starter. The habit is recent: the variety was bred in Massachusetts in the 1940s, and the South African food writer Carmen Niehaus dates the soup’s rise to the early 1980s. Recipes vary from one kitchen to the next: some add curry powder or masala with the onion, others sweet potato or orange zest, and some use chicken stock. We use vegetable stock and keep to onion, apple and nutmeg, so that the taste of the squash comes first. Our Australian pumpkin soup takes another route, with coconut milk, ginger and curry powder.

The techniques this recipe uses

Sweat the aromatics
Medium heat, no browning: the onion should turn translucent and sweet, not toasted.

Frequently asked questions

Why put an apple in squash soup?

Its acidity balances the sweetness of the butternut, which can otherwise make the soup taste sugary and flat. Use a tart apple such as a Granny Smith and peel it: cooked with the squash, it disappears in the blender and leaves only a touch of freshness.

Can this soup be made vegan?

Yes: swap the butter for two tablespoons of oil and serve without cream, or with a swirl of plant cream. The blended squash is enough to make the soup velvety; the cream only rounds it off.

How do I peel a butternut without cutting myself?

Slice off both ends so it sits flat, then separate the neck from the bulb. Stand each piece on its cut face and take the skin off from top to bottom with a knife, or use a vegetable peeler. Then scoop the seeds out of the bulb with a spoon.

Butternut squash soup

Method

The techniques this recipe uses

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Nutrition per serving

Frequently asked questions

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