spiced & roasted squash soup
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped or sliced
1 generous knob butter
1 sweet mama squash
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds
A pinch of coarse salt
A little olive oil
300-500ml Vegetable stock
Milk or single cream (or any combination of the two)
Instructions
This is a really sweet soup, with a warm spiciness - hot chilli lovers might want to add some chilli seeds to the caraway/cumin mix for extra kick!
1. In a large pan, melt the butter over a low heat and add the onion, garlic, celery and carrot. Cover with a lid and cook until the onion and celery are transparent.You may need to add a little water to prevent the butter from burning.
2. Meanwhile, use a pestle and mortar to grind the caraway and cumin seeds with the salt.
3. Peel, de-seed and slice the squash - you should end up with 10-12 slices dependent on the size of the squash. Brush each with a little olive oil and place them on a baking tray. Sprinkle with the caraway and cumin mix, place in the centre of a hot oven (200C) and roast for around 30 minutes or until the squash is tender.
4. Puree all the vegetables along with the vegetable stock using either a food processor or a hand-held blender. Loosen with more vegetable stock, or for a really creamy finish, milk and/or single cream. Serve with crusty bread rolls or naan breads.
