When it comes to the most comforting autumn dishes, butternut squash soup is a surefire winner.
As it’s already the first weekend of October, it’s the perfect time to prepare a batch. This velvety soup requires only a few ingredients to create something so delicious yet wholesome.
Mary Berry’s version is simple and eliminates the need to peel the squash – often the most tedious part of any butternut squash recipe. The base consists of familiar ingredients – onion, celery, and carrots – which you may already have on hand.
Combine these with the roasted squash, rosemary and a bit of ginger and you’re nearly there. Pair it with crusty bread slathered in butter, and you’ve got yourself an ideal autumn meal.
As reports the Express, the recipe description on the cooking icon’s website states: “Shaped like a large peanut, they have a sweet orange flesh. Roasting them first in the oven means that you don’t have to tackle removing the tough skin, and it fills the kitchen with a delicious aroma!”
Mary Berry’s butternut squash soup
This recipe serves six people.
Ingredients
- Three small butternut squash, about 1.6kg (3 ½ lb) total weight
- About two tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- 25g (1oz) butter
- One large onion, roughly chopped
- Two large carrots, roughly chopped
- Two large sticks celery, sliced
- 2.5cm (1 inch) root ginger, grated
- 1.1-1.3 litres (2-2 ¼ pints) vegetable or chicken stock
- Sprig of fresh rosemary or one teaspoon dried rosemary
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F /Gas 6.
- Cut the butternut squash in half lengthways, scoop out the seeds with a metal spoon and discard.
- Arrange the squash halves cut side up in a roasting tin just big enough to hold the squash in a single layer and drizzle over the olive oil. Season each squash half with salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg. Pour 150ml (1/4 pint) water around the squash.
- Cook in the preheated oven for about 1 ¼ hours, basting occasionally, until the squash are very tender. Allow to cool.
- Melt the butter in a large pan and add the onion, carrot, celery and grated ginger.
- Cook for 5-10 minutes until beginning to soften. Add the stock, rosemary and seasoning, bring to the boil then partially cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
- When cool enough to handle scoop the flesh from the squash and add to the pan.
- Blend the vegetables in a liquidiser or food processor until smooth. (If you use a food processor, it is easier to process the vegetables with a little of the liquid, adding the remaining liquid to the processed vegetables to make the soup).
- Taste for seasoning and serve hot with crusty bread.
To prepare ahead: Allow to cool, transfer to a suitable container, cover and keep in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat thoroughly to serve.
To freeze: Cool the soup at the end of stage three. Pack and freeze for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature for eight hours or overnight in the fridge.
