Butternut squash and red pepper soup with walnuts
anubhav mahajan
Creamy ,luxurious, flavourful blend of healthy butternut squash, red pepper and walnuts. Perfect healthy soup bowl, for cozy fall evenings.
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 30 minutes mins
- 350 gms butternut squash
- 1 small red pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 12-15 cloves garlic
- 1 small onion chopped roughly
- 2 tsp oil for cooking
- 1/2 cup water to steam butternut squash
- 5-7 whole peppers
- water/ vegetable stock adjust as per the consistency required
To serve butternut squash and red pepper soup with walnuts
- freshly ground pepper as per taste
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or paprika)
- few drops Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) for garnishing
- fresh watercress / parsley/coriander for garnishing
- few chopped walnuts for garnishing
Roasting garlic
On a hobSeparate the garlic pods, and without removing the outer skin, toast these on an iron pan for 8-10 minutes, till the skin starts turning black. In an oven Use whole garlic or separate the garlic pods, and without removing the outer skin, keep them on a tray in a preheated oven at around 190-200 degrees centigrade. If using a whole garlic pod, cut the pod from top, add some olive oil and then cook in the oven. Let the garlic cook for about 10 minutes, till the outer skin starts turning black.
Squeeze the garlic flesh and use .
Roasting red pepper
To roast the red pepper wash it and rub some oil on a red pepper .
Cook in the oven at around 190-200 degrees centigrade for 15-20 minutes, till the outer skin starts shrivelling.
Once cooked , keep aside and let the red pepper cool.Once cool, remove the seeds ,peel the skin off the red pepper, and keep the flesh to be used in the soup.
Cooking instructions for soup
Heat a little oil in pan. Add pealed roasted garlic cloves (or fresh ), sautè for a minute. Add chopped onions, and again sautè. Now add roughly cut butternut squash slices, a few whole peppercorns, a little salt. Mix everything well. Add a little water.Cover and let cook for 15 minutes, till the butternut squash slices become tender.
Once done, let it cool.
Add walnuts, in butternut squash mix, and stir well.
Put everything is grinder, add a little salt and grind to a fine puree.
Now in a pan, add a few drops of oil, and add chopped roasted garlic. Sauté for a minute and add butternut squash puree. Mix well,
Add water (or vegetable stock), adjust as per the consistency you like .Bring to a boil. Adjust seasoning as per taste. Add a little cayenne pepper(or paprika), freshly ground pepper.
Pour in soup bowls, top with a dollop of sour cream(or fresh cream), evoo , chopped walnuts and watercress. Serve hot, with a side of crusty bread, garlic breads, mini cheese bruschetta, toasted and buttered ciabatta , or even a simple cheese toast.
If you are using roasted garlic, you can follow the below steps-
To roast garlics-
On a hob-
Separate the garlic pods, and without removing the outer skin, toast these on an iron pan for a few minutes, till the skin starts turning black.
In an oven-
Separate the garlic pods, and without removing the outer skin, keep them on a tray ,in a preheated oven at around 220-230 degrees centigrade, and let them roast for about 10 minutes, till the outer skin starts turning black.
To use, just peel the outer skin and add to whatever dish you are making.This can be stored in the fridge, with skin on, for 8-10 days.
For this soup recipe, i keep both the garlic and peppers together in the oven at about 200 degrees, and take the garlic out after 10 minutes, and cook red peppers for about 7-10 more minutes.
Keyword soups, butternut squash