1kg butternut squash or pumpkin
250g cooking apples
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 thumb sized piece of ginger
15g butter
¼ tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ras el hanout*
1.4l chicken or vegetable stock
For the parmesan crisps:
100g parmesan
fresh thyme (optional)
Prep 1h 10’ – Serves 8 – Easy – Vegetarian
Halve the butternut squash and scoop out the seeds. Peel the and cut into bite-sized chunks. Peel and core the apples and cut into bite-sized chunks. Peel and finely chop the onion, then peel and crush the garlic cloves. Peel the ginger and finely grate.
Heat the butter in a large saucepan and fry the onion for 4 minutes until soft. Add the garlic, ginger and dried chilli flakes and fry for another minute.
Add the butternut squash, apple chunks, cinnamon and ras el hanout. Cover with a lid and sweat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the stock and bring to the boil. Cover and leave to simmer for 30 minutes until the squash is soft.
Meanwhile, make the parmesan crisps: Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Line a tray with baking paper and place heaped tablespoons of parmesan onto the tray. If using, sprinkle some fresh thyme leaves over the parmesan and bake for 8 minutes. Leave to cool on the baking paper.
Once the butternut squash is soft, take the soup off the heat, remove the lid and leave to cool for 10 minutes.
Purée the soup with a stick blender until smooth. Pour back into the saucepan and heat up if no longer hot. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve each portion with a sprinkle of ras el hanout and accompany with parmesan crisps.
*Ras el hanout is a North African spice mix made from cardamom, cloves, chilli, cinnamon, cumin, rose petals and other spices.
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