Roast garlic and butternut soup

Tam West

What I really like about this soup is that it is so flexible. The technique of roasting the main vegetable means it can be applied to different ingredients, depending on what’s available. Experiment by switching out the butternut for pumpkin, buttercup or carrots. The garlic can be omitted as well and the soup can be completely vegetarian (and dairy free) by using a little more oil and replacing the creme fraiche with perhaps roasted mushrooms, fennel or even courgettes.

Ingredients

5	Garlic cloves, peeled and sliced in half
600 g	Butternut, peeled and deseeded, diced 2cm
1 tsp	Salt
3 Tbsp	Olive oil
50 g	Butter, diced
½ cup	Creme fraiche
½ tsp	Black peppercorns, coarsely crushed
1 Tbsp	Chives, sliced 1cm

Directions

1. Heat oven to 200C. Place garlic and butternut in a roasting dish, season with salt then drizzle over oil. Mix well. Add butter then cover with foil and roast for 30-40 minutes or until butternut is completely cooked.
2. Puree half the butternut in a food processor or jug blender. Add ½ - ¾ cup of boiling water, blend until smooth; add extra water as necessary.
3. Strain through a fine sieve then puree the remaining butternut with boiling water until smooth, then strain.
4. Reheat soup in a clean saucepan until hot, season to taste.
5. Serve soup in warmed bowls, spoon creme fraiche on top, garnish with black pepper and chives.

More warm, nourishing soups from Geoff

• Smoked hock, carrot and kale broth
• Creme of cauliflower and blue cheese soup