SEXY BUTTERNUT SOUP

This is another of silvana franco's recipes, i served it at my first ever dinner party, and my son's 3rd birthday party (although i admit i didn't make it that time, the bf did) ! it's ridiculously delicious considering how easy it is to make! i have given out this recipe countless times, and have eaten it at family and friends houses. it's not hard, give it a try, easy to feed a crowd with, and you can even freeze it. it's one of those recipes that actually tastes batter the next day, when the flavours have had a chance to develop.

*interesting facts*

 - butternut squash is known as 'butternut pumpkin' in Australia and New Zealand.

 - it grows on a vine!

 - it is a good source of fibre, vitamin c, vitamin a & vitamin e.

 RECIPE

The only thing i'll say you must, must use is marigold veggie (not vegan) boullion to make the stock. the vegan one tastes like mushrooms and grosses me out personally. also the absolute best serving suggestion is most definitely cheese and chive toasties, they are mandatory in silvana franco's 

INGREDIENTS;

1.5kg butternut squash (unpeeled weight) or 1 big one. I tend to adjust the ingredients to how much squash i have, as you often have to guess at the market.

2-4 onions (as many as you like)

200ml creme fraiche when you add this the whole texture of the soup changes, it';s amazing!

4 thyme sprigs i have used dried thyme before, but nothing beats the real thing, i get a bunch of about 15 sprigs from the market for 50p! makes all the difference.

1 litre stock you can make it anyway you like, you can use homemade stock, generally keep it veggie, and for best results in my opinion, use bouillon.

2-4 garlic cloves i'm one of those people who thinks you cant over-do garlic.

olive oil

salt and pepper

TOOLS;

 - a big pot (or a really big pot if you're doubling up) with a lid

 - a good strong knife and chopping board

 - wooden spoon

 - a handheld blender or a food processor

 - a good peeler

METHOD;

step 1 - peel your butternut squash, it can be very tough if you don't have a good peeler! if you want you can chop it up then peel the pieces, but it's quicker just to do it in one. chop it up and scoop out the seeds and the wet hairy stuff*. you should now have about 1kg of squash at the least, more than that is fine. set to the side. chop up your onions quite fine, and squash your garlic cloves and chop them up too. 

step 2 - add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the big pot and set it over a medium-low heat. bung in the garlic and onions, put the squash ontop, then put the lid on. let them sweat and soften, give it a stir now and again and check nothings burning. lower the heat if you need to.

step 3 - after about 10 mins, add the stock and the thyme. stir it up. cover and simmer for 30 mins.

step 4 - take the soup off the heat, pull out the thyme stalks (pull the leaves off and put back into the soup if you wish, but they generally fall off the stalks anyway). then blend the soup with the handheld blender. you can pour it through a colander if you like to check for lumps you might have missed.

step 5 - either stir in the creme fraiche now and reheat over the hob really slowly, don't boil! or serve the soup with the creme fraiche on the side for people to swirl in themselves. done.

serving suggestions: either bread rolls, buttered toast or the best is cheese and chive toasties on white bread! mmmmm!

* if you hate wasting bits of vegetables, you can try washing the seeds and grilling them lightly in a bit of oil and some parmesan, makes a tasty treat or you can sprinkle it over the soup?

other ideas to try; 

 - you could try roasting the butternut squash to soften it, instead of boiling.

- make it using pumpkin instead, they're very easily interchangeable.

- add other vegetables to the soup. make it plain the first time, then think of what you could add while you eat it.