Associate
I made a coffee, whiskey and butternut squash soup tonight. No pictures but I'll post my method here for those that are interested. It was surprisingly good. I've left the quantities and timing quite vague so it can be increased or decreased according to how many people you're making it for.
Peel the squash (I used half a butternut squash for one portion but you could use any of the pumpkin/squash family)
Cut into chunks and then cube it for a faster cooking time.
Put the cubes* into a roasting tin with some butter and sprinkle a little amount of sugar and honey over to help sweeten it and caramalize.
Roast in a pre-heated oven untill the veg colours (5-10 mins 200)
*Note 1: We need to go shopping so I had nothing else vegetable wise to put in it, but if I did I would also add some onion and carrot at this stage to roast with the squash.
After the squash (and veg) has begun to colour, take the roasting tin out of the oven and deglaze it with just enough hot water to cover it**, then crumble in a vegetable stock cube (or use fresh stock) and add a couple of pinches each of cumin, oregano and thyme, a pinch of chilli flakes, a cinnamon stick, a couple of shots of whisky or bourbon (I used 1 shot of Jura and 1 of Talisker, but whatever you want to use should be fine. Peaty flavours will only improve the warmth of the soup) and a shot of freshly brewed coffee.
Give the watery brown mixture a stir then return to the oven to finish cooking the vegetables all the way through. (Approx 20. mins at 180)
Once the vegetables are soft, pour the mixture into a pan on the hob, throw away the cinnamon stick and blend the remaining soup mixture.
**Note 2: My soup was still quite watery at this stage as I poured over too much water and didn't have the additional vegetables I would have liked to use. To solve this just turn the heat up for a while to boil the soup and reduce the liquid down to a thicker consistancy.
Serve with some warm crusty bread or add in some dumplings at the end and cook the soup gently with a lid on for another 10 minutes. Enjoy settling down to eat a wholesome bowl of warming, spicy soup this winter.
Peel the squash (I used half a butternut squash for one portion but you could use any of the pumpkin/squash family)
Cut into chunks and then cube it for a faster cooking time.
Put the cubes* into a roasting tin with some butter and sprinkle a little amount of sugar and honey over to help sweeten it and caramalize.
Roast in a pre-heated oven untill the veg colours (5-10 mins 200)
*Note 1: We need to go shopping so I had nothing else vegetable wise to put in it, but if I did I would also add some onion and carrot at this stage to roast with the squash.
After the squash (and veg) has begun to colour, take the roasting tin out of the oven and deglaze it with just enough hot water to cover it**, then crumble in a vegetable stock cube (or use fresh stock) and add a couple of pinches each of cumin, oregano and thyme, a pinch of chilli flakes, a cinnamon stick, a couple of shots of whisky or bourbon (I used 1 shot of Jura and 1 of Talisker, but whatever you want to use should be fine. Peaty flavours will only improve the warmth of the soup) and a shot of freshly brewed coffee.
Give the watery brown mixture a stir then return to the oven to finish cooking the vegetables all the way through. (Approx 20. mins at 180)
Once the vegetables are soft, pour the mixture into a pan on the hob, throw away the cinnamon stick and blend the remaining soup mixture.
**Note 2: My soup was still quite watery at this stage as I poured over too much water and didn't have the additional vegetables I would have liked to use. To solve this just turn the heat up for a while to boil the soup and reduce the liquid down to a thicker consistancy.
Serve with some warm crusty bread or add in some dumplings at the end and cook the soup gently with a lid on for another 10 minutes. Enjoy settling down to eat a wholesome bowl of warming, spicy soup this winter.
