Butternut Squash Soup - Quick And Easy Recipe

This Butternut Squash Soup recipe is healthy, and very quick and easy to prepare, so it is suitable for beginners. As it is really a butternut squash puree soup, you will need a food processor, blender or juicer to make it properly.

You can even garnish your butternut squash soup with a dash of cream or yoghourt.

The vegetable has an outer skin which is hard, but nevertheless you can peel it quite easily. Inside, you will find that the pith is a pale orange colour, which turns to a darker rich orange colour as it ripens. There is also a hollow area inside the butternut squash which contains the seeds or pips, which you will need to remove before cooking.

To avoid confusion, note that In New Zealand and Australia, butternut squash may also be called butternut pumpkin.

(Skip this paragraph if you want to get straight to the point!)

Not so long ago, my brother gave me a butternut squash when I visited him. I wasn't too sure what to do with it, and left it lying around for a couple of weeks, intending to look up a recipe. I didn't get round to it and eventually I asked my sister how to cook it, as it is popular in Southern Africa, where she used to live. Her immediate and enthusiastic answer was to tell me how to make this simple butternut squash soup, which she assured me was scrumptious. I wasn't all that keen on trying it out, because she had told me that it was slightly sweet, but as it sounded easy, I thought I'd take a chance, shaping it to my own creative style.

It turned out to be very successful.

It contains all these elements:

• vitamin A
• vitamin C
• vitamin E
• fibre
• manganese
• potassium
• magnesium

The information above is just a short summary. You'll fnd more detailed information here:

Preparation time: 5 min

Cooking time: 15 min

Ready in: 20 min

Yields: 4 Portions of Butternut Squash Soup

To Save Time, Assemble the Equipment and Ingredients Before you Start

• Medium-sized Saucepan
• Kitchen Knife
• Potato Peeler
• Tablespoon/Wooden Spoon
• Chopping Board
• Blender or Food Processor

Assemble the Ingredients Before You Start

• 1 Butternut Squash
• 1 Small Onion
• 1 tablespoonful Olive Oil or Butter (Olive oil is healthier but butter tastes nicer)
• ¹/₂ cup Orange Juice, Fresh or from a carton. (¹/₂ cup = 150 ml. or ¹/₄ pint)
• 1 small pinch of Sweet Chilli Flakes (optional)
• ¹/₄ teaspoonful of Grated Nutmeg or Nutmeg Powder
• 1 Clove
• ¹/₂ teaspoonful of Turmeric (optional)
• 1 Chicken Stock Cube
• 1 teaspoonful of Crushed Ginger, fresh, bottled or frozen (or ¹/₃ teaspoon of powdered ginger)

NB: Precise amounts are not particularly important for this recipe, so you can add more or less or vary the ingredients

This slightly sweet butternut squash soup will be ready in no time at all

• Peel and chop the onion. Put the olive oil or butter in the saucepan, add the onion and fry it gently on a low heat to soften it (called "sweating"). Don't let it go brown and crispy.

• Then, whilst the onion is cooking, peel the butternut squash with your potato peeler and cut it into chunks. Then add it to the onions in the saucepan and add all the spices. Cook the mixture and stir for 2 - 3 minutes on a low heat.

• Then add 2 cups of water, bring to the boil and simmer until the butternut squash is soft (10 - 15 minutes). Whilst it is cooking, add the orange juice and chicken stock cube.
• Then puree the soup in a blender or food processor and return it to the saucepan.
• Add a little more water to make up the required quantity of soup.
• For an optional garnish, you could add a swirl of cream, plain thick yogurt or creme fraiche after you have served out the butternut squash soup into bowls, or you could sprinkle a small amount of aromatic fresh green herbs on the top.

Butternut Squash Soup can be served hot for a deliciously comforting slightly sweet soup or served lukewarm or cold as a refreshing summer soup

Did you think it might be difficult to cook with, or taste strange?

Were you fascinated when you saw its beautiful shape at the greengrocers or market?