Gone are the summer days when you walk to the market and see piles of gleaming tomatoes, asparagus and ruby coloured strawberries. But all is not glum, because in their place are the Kings of autumn vegetables, the glorious squash!
Butternut Squash really comes alive when it is roasted. It's naturally sweet flesh lend itself perfectly to be the star of a velvety simple soup. I know that I am not alone here, but I love the fact that autumn heralds the beginning of soup season. There is nothing more comforting than a big bowl of soup.
I've also looked to the seasonal markets for inspiration for the garnish of this soup. Cobnuts are great at the moment with their creamy bite. They really work with the butternut to add some textural dimension to the soup. If you cant find some trusty Kent Cobnuts, then by all means use hazelnuts.
Roasted Squash Soup
1 Butternut squash
3 cloves Garlic
1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
2 carrots peeled, chopped
1 leek, chopped
2 sprigs sage, chopped
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Cobnut & Sage Burre Noistette
Handful of shelled cobnuts/nazelnuts (optional)
8 sage leaves
25g Unsalted Butter
For the Soup:
Heat oven to 180c. Chop the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and stringy bits. Drizzle the flesh with olive oil and add the unpeeled garlic into the cavity. Roast the squash for about an hour till it becomes soft and slightly caramelized.
When the squash is almost done roasting, heat a small amount of olive oil in a pan and saute the carrots & leeks untill soft and translucent. Add the sage, saute till fragrant. Finally Add the stock and bring to a gentle simmer.
Remove the squash from the oven and scoop out the flesh into the bowl of a food processor, discarding the skins. Pop the roasted garlic out of the skins into the processor. Using a sieve and a jug, strain the stock fro the vegetables. Add the vegetables to the bowl of the processor and process until you have a smooth puree. Then add the war stock through the chute until you have the consistency of single cream. Season and garnish with Cobnut & Sage Burre Noistette if using.
For the Cobnut & Sage Burre Noistette:
Heat the butter in a nonstick pan when foaming add the cobnuts and sautee till golden. Remove the cobnuts from the butter with a slotted spoon. Add the sage leaves to the butter and sautee till fragrant and crisp. Remove the leaves from the butter and drain on kitchen roll.
By this time you should have a lovely nutty brown butter, if not continue to cook the residual butter until nutty and brown.
