Ingredients
Vegetables
- 500 g butternut squash, peeled and chopped into small chunks (roughly 2cm cubes)
- 2 large red bell peppers, chopped into chunks (roughly 2cm x 2cm)
- 1 red onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, grated or crushed
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped finely
Other Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 500 ml vegetable stock (cube-based, e.g., Kallo Organic Vegetable Stock)
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Set your oven to 220°C (200°C fan) / gas mark 7 / 425°F to prepare for roasting the vegetables.
- Prepare Vegetables for Roasting: Place the chopped butternut squash and red pepper in a large roasting tin, ensuring they are in a single layer and not touching each other to allow even roasting.
- Oil and Roast First 10 Minutes: Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the vegetables and toss to coat evenly. Arrange again in a single layer and roast in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- Turn Vegetables: Remove the tin from the oven and carefully turn the vegetables, maintaining spacing to encourage even roasting. Return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes or until soft and browned around the edges.
- Sauté Onions and Garlic: While the vegetables roast, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add diced onions and gently fry with the lid on for 4 minutes until softened but not browned. Add garlic and cook for a further minute, stirring occasionally.
- Combine Roasted Vegetables and Stock: Transfer the roasted vegetables to the saucepan with onions and garlic. Add the vegetable stock, salt, and black pepper, then bring mixture to a boil.
- Simmer Soup: Reduce heat to low and simmer with the lid on for 5 minutes to meld flavors.
- Blend Soup: Carefully transfer the hot soup along with fresh basil to a blender. Blitz until completely smooth, taking care due to the hot temperature of the soup.
- Adjust and Reheat: If needed, return the blended soup to the saucepan to rewarm and adjust seasoning. Add a little water if the soup is thicker than desired.
- Serve: Ladle the soup into bowls and serve hot, optionally accompanied by homemade bread.
Notes
- To peel butternut squash more easily, cut it into thick disks and stand each disk on the chopping board. Slice off the skin from the edges vertically with a knife for quicker peeling.
- The soup uses only black pepper for seasoning since the vegetable stock cube already contains salt, helping prevent over-salting.
- You can use a stick blender instead of a traditional blender for convenience and safety when blending hot soup.
- This soup is suitable for freezing, making it great for meal prep or leftovers.
- Nutrition info is approximate and provided as a guideline.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Soup, Main Course
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: British
- Diet: Vegetarian
