Butternut Squash & Roasted Red Pepper Soup

[Doris_Pinks]

Easy recipe and delicious!

2 Red Peppers
1 Medium Onion chopped
1 Large butternut peeled and chopped (I have used other varities, whatever is to hand!)
2 Pints vegetable or chicken stock.
Splish of olive oil.

Roast peppers (I do this over an open flame) and seal in a bag.
Put a little oil in the pan and add chopped onions and squash, saute gently until onion is soft.
Peel and deseed peppers and chop, add to pan, add stock and simmer until squash is soft.
Liquidise, check seasoning and serve hot.

[Doris_Pinks]

[Mrs Ava]

mmmmmmmmmm.  The old man hates sweet peppers so could do that for him, however, I do almost exactly that recipe, just without the peppers, and add a sprinkle of curry powder, or a dollop of curry paste, or a dash of sweet chilli jelly.  In fact, I think I will make some later.  Had a count up today - have over 40 squashes in the conservatory, and at least 15 still on the allotment!

[flowerlady]

These sound delicious, my little butternuts are not big enough to pick yet.

Last winter I had to buy them (wow what a cost) and then I added a couple of carrots to a similar mix as DP, with a pinch of nutmeg.  Can certainly recommend butternut soup ;D

[wardy]

I had squash soup the other night and it was gorgeous.  I treated myself to a stick blender from Tesco today £4.98 as I get fed up of getting the big blender out of the cupboard.  Can't wait to give it a whirl  :)  Have plenty of squashes to go at, but one less as I made me turks turban into a lantern today.  It has a bit of an evil grin on it  ;D

[Mrs Ava]

Picture Wardy!!  Good idea.  Was thinking I might let the kids do one each at the weekend as I wanna make soup, they can have the fun and I can have the flesh!

[wardy]

Good fun innit  ;D   This was my first ever lantern  :)   I couldn't bear to wait til dark to see what it looked like when lit so I took it into the outside bog with a night light, box of matches, dog, yes dog he came too  ;D.  Stood it on cistern, lit, stood back to admire.   I think I am going slightly ga ga these days  ;D

[kentishchloe]

OOh, this sounds fantastic - will have a bash tomorrow. I've got six beautiful butternuts waiting in my conservatory.

I have to add pasta to soups for my son as he insists on feeding himself and hasn't got the hang of soup yet - just pours it over his head. At least if it looks like pasta & sauce he'll eat it properly...  ;D

[daisymay]

I do similar but with roasted sweetcorn (well - grilled anyway) toast it under the grill till it starts to go brown and mix half in before liquidising and the other in whole after

is yummy!

[Obelixx]

There was an American lady on Masterchef a few yrs ago who added one Granny Smith apple to her butternut soup and, after liquidising it all, a good pinch of cumin.  Fabulous.  I do it when I can get butternuts though of late we prefer them roasted.

I did grow my own once but they were rather weak and watery in flavour.   Any tips for ripening them up a bit if I try again?

[wardy]

I made squash soup the other day and I put in two teaspoons of ground coriander and one tspn of ground cumin, plus a dash of Ancona chilli sauce, plus lots of freshly ground pepper and salt.  It does need something to give it some oomph  ;D  Cream at the end is good too

For ripening I bought mine indoors (I think it was DP who told me this) to ripen at room temp for about 10 days and then stash them in the spare room or whatever.  Somewhere dry!  Mine are hanging all over the flippin place.  Ate a Sweet Mama last night.  I stuffed that one  :)

[Doris_Pinks]

Obbelix try this link, it may help!

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/yabbse/index.php/topic,12896.0.html

I have done curried squash and apple too! YUM!

Squash and carrot puree Sunday night, the red pepper soup yesterday and lunch today,and squash wrapped in parma ham (well a cheaper alternative) last night, and roasted in chunks with herbs and garlic tonight.........................thats the trouble with cutting one of the big uns, (yellow banana) its squash with everything! ;D ;D

[wardy]

My husband thought courgettes with everything was bad enough but now ...... and these are way bigger  ;D

Just to give him a treat he's got a stir fry tonight without courgette or squash  :)

[Mrs Ava]

At least with the pumpkins you can store them and stagger their use, not like courgettes that need to be used as they are picked!  I pulled 6 courgettes on Monday and the 2 surviving plants had loads of babies coming!  All this sunshine, and now rain..........courgette glut mark 2!

[Doris_Pinks]

I am hoping cos I never got courgette glut mark 1  ;D

[Obelixx]

Thanks Doris.  I shall have a go and see if it works.

[Moggle]

I have always chucked a carrot, a spud, and a tomato in pumpkin soup too - Yum!

[Debs]

Waaagghh :'(

Why didn't my butternuts grow?

this recipe sounds so good

The plants looked healthy and rambled everywhere (SOB)

Debs :'(i

[Mrs Ava]

I grew cobnut this year.  A cross between butternuts, but they are earlier maturing so more suitable for our climate.  Dinky fruits also, but I imagine they would have been bigger if I could have provided water for the plants.  Will be growing them again - good dense fruit, low water content, sweet flesh!

[Tulipa]

Just found this link with some squash/pumpkin recipes - I am always looking for new recipes..

http://www.countryside-trust.org.uk/downloads/pumpkin_and_squash_leaflet.doc

I like the sound of the Tea Bread.

[wardy]

Not one butternut here either.  Have given up and pulled them out.  Oh  well they should make some good compost  :)