This is a
soup I made recently from
butternut squash, which doesn’t usually lend itself to much
sublety, but cooked in this way, it was surprisingly good. I used small squash with pale, yellow-orange flesh rather than the bright orange variety, and the finished soup was a
lustrous gold, not too sweet, very
savoury, but delicate.
Cut a butternut squash in half lengthwise and then cut each half into two inch half-circles. Remove the skin and seeds with a paring knife. Cut one quarter of the squash into half-inch square pieces and set these aside. Place the remaining larger pieces on an oiled baking tray. Peel and cut a large white onion in half and add this to the tray, along with some celery stalks. Roast until the squash is thoroughly cooked (takes half an hour or so).
Blend the cooked ingredients with heated water (cover the top of the blender with a folded cloth just in case the steam pushes the lid off the blender and burns your hand). Place a mesh colander on top of a soup pot and pour the blended mixture into it, using a Rubbermaid spatula to push it through.
Thin to a desired consistency by adding water or a light-coloured vegetable stock. Bring to a boil and then lower the temperature to medium-high. Add the uncooked cubed butternut squash and allow it to cook for 15 minutes or so.
To season, add butter, salt, and a little lemon juice (very important to balance the sweetness of the squash), white pepper, and a little buttermilk for a bit of tang. But don’t boil the soup once you’ve added the buttermilk or it may separate.
Sprinkle with a generous amount of black pepper before serving.
Note: I made a similar soup after a few weeks after making this one, with vivid orange butternut squash and added white kidney beans, Romano beans, and some other seasonings (cumin, garlic, ancho chilli powder). Both of these soups were made for a large group of people and received rave reviews.