Roasted butternut soup recipe

Cosy up with this comforting butternut soup on a cold night. Photo / Fresh Media

Everyone has a favourite pumpkin soup, but it’s always worth adding a new recipe to your repertoire.

Roasting the butternut whole makes it much easier to handle and really brings out the sweet nutty flavour. Make a big pot while butternut is in season and freeze some for later.

Roasted butternut soup

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 butternut pumpkin

A drizzle of virgin olive oil

1 whole garlic bulb

1 leek, sliced

1 carrot, sliced

1 stick celery, sliced

8-10 fresh sage leaves

4 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

1L vegetable stock

½ cup coconut cream

To serve

1 Tbsp black tahini

Dried chilli flakes (optional)

2 Tbsp pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted

Fresh herbs, chopped

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place the pumpkin and the garlic on a lightly greased large oven tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for 1 hour until the pumpkin is soft. Set aside until cool enough to handle.
2. Peel and scoop out the flesh of the pumpkin, discarding the seeds. Remove the garlic from its skin.
3. Heat a dash of oil in a large pot. Add the leek, carrot, celery and cook for a few minutes. Strip the leaves off the rosemary sprigs and add with the other fresh herbs, roasted garlic, and pumpkin flesh, then pour in the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Blend the soup in a blender or using a hand-held stick blender until smooth. Place the soup over high heat and bring to a boil. Stir in the coconut cream and season to taste.
5. Serve in soup bowls, drizzle with tahini, sprinkle some pumpkin seeds, chopped fresh herbs and chilli flakes.

Afterword

Black tahini adds a subtle smoky flavour to the soup. You can substitute white tahini or leave it out if you prefer.

-fresh.co.nz