I made a delicious autumnal soup (if I do say so myself), and I added one ingredient that made all the difference. The hot UK summer weather is well and truly behind us, and the autumnal feel has truly arrived. As a result, I have retrieved my hand blender and soup pot, and I have been busy making some hearty and comforting soups. My latest one is one of my favourites so far.
I have made a few soups in recent weeks. One of my past highlights was my sweet potato and carrot soup. However, my spicy tomato and butternut squash soup has given it a run for its money. With the help of one ingredient, it had a hearty and earthy flavour that added to the complexity of the different vegetables I used. What’s even better is that it takes little effort, and I can spend most of the cooking time doing something else.
The extra ingredient I used, which only costs 63p in Sainsbury’s, was ground cumin. Ground cumin added a deeper flavour, which was crucial for balancing the acidity of the tomatoes and onions, and for enhancing the autumnal flavour of the squash.
Here is everything I used to make my spicy tomato and butternut squash soup:
- 6 medium tomatoes
- 2 red chillis
- 1 red bell pepper
- 3 small/medium red onions
- 1 butternut squash
- 1 leek
- 2 bulbs of garlic
- 1 tbsp double cream
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 2 to 3 tsp cumin
- Dash of salt and black pepper
Here are the steps I followed to make my spicy tomato and butternut squash soup
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
- Chop all vegetables (except for the leek) into medium-sized chunks. Chop the tops of the garlic bulbs, leaving them in their skins. Once the oven has preheated, roast the vegetables and garlic for around 25 minutes.
- Heat olive oil in a large pot. Chop and fry the leek for five minutes.
- Once the vegetables have finished roasting in the oven, add them to the pot and let them continue to cook on a low heat.
- Make vegetable stock using two cubes and add it to the pot. Add the spices. Cover the pot and let it simmer on a low heat for around 20 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and blend the contents of the pot with an immersion blender. If you don’t have one of these, transfer the contents of the pot to a separate blender and blitz it.
- In the pot, add the double cream and stir it into the soup over a low heat.
This soup really became a quick favourite of mine. It is a recipe that I will definitely revisit. If I were to do anything different, I might have used one less chilli. Otherwise, it was one of my best attempts at making soup.
