Tuesday 21 July 2009

Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup with Chorizo

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Last Friday the weather was really bad and I got absolutely soaked cycling back home from town, so I needed something warm and comforting. I don't usually make soup often during the summer months, but it didn't feel like summer at all and I had a butternut squash that had been hanging around my kitchen for at least six weeks. Soup seemed like the perfect solution.

Also my friend JM had been to Brindisa at Bourough Market and brought back some fresh chorizo. Since he and E left for their holiday before they could finish all of it, I was the lucky recipient of the 'leftovers' that they hadn't got round to eating. In addition to that I found a sweet potato in my pantry and threw that in the mix as well.

B was also in need of some comfort on Friday so she came round to help me eat the resulting soup. A perfect quiet Friday night in with food, loads of pots of tea and good talk.


















Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup with Chorizo (serves 4)

1 butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeds removed
1 large sweet potato, peeled and thickly sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 inch of fresh ginger, grated
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1-2 tsp of paprika
1 1/4 litre vegetable stock
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

4 fresh chorizo sausages, casings removed and sliced

Place the squash and sweet potato on a large baking tray and drizzle with a little olive oil. Place in an oven at 200C/Gas 5 for about 45 minutes, until the flesh is soft.

In the meantime heat a little oil in a large, heavy-based pan and sweat the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Add the ginger, chili and half of the stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Once the butternut squash and potato is done, chop them up roughly and add to the pan. If you prefer you can just use the flesh of the buttenut squash by scooping it out with a spoon, but I just use it as it is including the skin. Puree, using a stick blender until smooth and add the rest of the stock until you get your desired thickness.

Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Simmer for a further 5-10 minutes.

While your soup is simmering fry the sliced chorizo in a pan. You don't need to add any oil as their is enough fat in the sausages. Once cooked place on some kitchen towel to soak up some of the excess fat and divide between four bowls.

Spoon over the hot soup and serve with some crusty bread.

16 comments:

Louise said...

Wow, Sylvie this looks delicious - I can use this to sneak some squash and sweet potato into my boyfriend as he claims he doesn't like them (having never tried them!) but loves chorizo! I haven't come across red pepper flakes before though - where did you get them from, or could you recommend a substitute? Xx

David Hall said...

Sylvie, that luscious soup with the crispy chorizo on has my mouth watering! Lovely stuff.

Cheers
David

pigpigscorner said...

WOw, looks and sounds so delicious with the squash, sweet potatoes and chorizo!

The Curious Cat said...

This looks divine -I wish I hadn't seen this, it is the end of the day, I still have an hour to get home from work and my taste buds are salivating all over the place - and my tummy is being VERY vocal too! :( xxx

Deborah said...

I am totally saving this recipe for when the weather cools down here!

Alex said...

It's certainly cold enought for soup today! Yum!

Also, I have tagged you with a Kreativ Blogger award on my blog...

Gloria Baker said...

Sylvie I love your soups, always are tempting!! and delicious!! Gloria

Jan said...

I thought it was only me that had a
butternut squash that's been hanging around my kitchen for at least six weeks!!
I bought it then didn't fancy it!
Great soup - I will give this a go before my poor butternut squash dies.

Sam said...

butternut squash and chorizo are a fantastic combination, the soup looks and sounds delicious!

Ginny said...

Butternut squash and sweet potato? looks so good! I'll have to give it a try when it gets a bit colder... :)

Marie Rayner said...

Great looking soup Sylvie. I just did a roasted veg soup to send to a sick friend. I am betting the addition of some chorizo would have gone down a real treat!

aforkfulofspaghetti said...

Anything with chorizo wins it for me! I did a spicy parsnip soup with chorizo a year or so ago - much the same effect, I imagine. Yummy!

Sylvie said...

Thanks for all the lovely comments, everyone.

Louise, I should have put chili flakes not red pepper flakes (I'll correct that). Sorry, they are just the ordinary ones you can get in any supermarket. Schwarz do them.

Alex, thank you so much!

diva said...

fantastic! this is just the kind of recipe my mum would love. thanks for sharing :) x

wendy said...

I made your soup a few nights ago and it was superb! I used soy chorizo because we are vegetarians and I substituted white potato because my husband is anti-sweet potato. Nevertheless, it was insanely delish!

I look forward to trying your other recipes.

Thank you,
wendy

Vanessa @ Cakes and Teacups said...

I've stumbled upon your blog and saw your recipe for butternut squash and sweet potato soup. This is one of my favourite soups. I've never had it with chorizo but I would love to try it. I'm quite new to blogging and I'd love to follow you and try some of your yummy recipes. Please follow me and my kiddies as well www.cakesandteacups.blogspot.com or www.cakesandtecups.com

Thank you