Butternut Squash, Tomato and Cumin Soup
Another hearty and filling soup recipe for Autumn.
I use the skin of the butternut squash in this recipe. I had only recently found out that the skin was edible. I didn’t realise that I could have used the seeds too. You could roast them while roasting the skin and add it to the topping. I must admit I haven’t made this one again. It’s alright but I prefer the other butternut squash soup recipe.
Did you know butternut squash skin is edible? Roasted it makes really nice chips (chips as in fries not crisps). I think the key is to not leave too much flesh with the skin and then they really crisp up. That’s what I did this time, I was really just looking for some sort of garnish for the soup, but they turned out great and made the dish much more substantial.
I was worried that this wasn’t enough to make the soup look good so I added some wholegrain mustard. To be honest, much as I love mustard, the soup tasted better without it so I’ve left it out of the ingredients.
The soup also tastes great just by itself, but if you do want to use the skin, scrub the squash well beforehand.
I’ve been adding cumin to most of my savoury dishes lately. This is because (before I gave up légumes) I made the Pioneer Woman’s Black Bean Soup (mentioned in one of the inspiration posts) which uses lots of cumin and it tasted great. Since then I’ve really been looking to replicate this flavour in other dishes, but as part of the flavour was from the black beans this hasn’t really been possible. Still I love the addition of cumin to most things lately.
Are there any health benefits from consuming cumin? Apparently it’s very good for you. Among other things it’s supposed to aid digestion.
Ingredients
- 1 medium-sized butternut squash, peeled, chopped & seeds discarded
- butternut squash skin, chipped, tossed in a litle oil & sprinkled with garam masala (optional)
- 1 400g tin plum tomatoes
- 2 leeks, sliced
- 2 celery sticks, sliced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 generous tablespoon cumin
- 1.2 litres vegetable stock
Instructions
- Add a little oil to a suitable large saucepan and add the onions, leeks, celery, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir them around well so that everything is seasoned and coated in a little oil. Cover and leave to sweat for 5 minutes.
- Add the butternut squash, stir around well, cover and leave on a gentle-moderate heat for a further 20 minutes or until the squash has softened some.
- If making the butternut squash skin chips, turn on the oven to 200 C, place the chips in a oiled baking tin and bake for 20 – 30 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes to the saucepan, bring to the boil, reduce the heat to gentle-moderate, add the cumin and leave to simmer for 25 minutes.
- Remove the soup from the heat and blend to a smooth consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
