Source: How I Cook
Smoky Squash, Butter Bean & Citrus Soup
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
- 2 onions
- 1 butternut squash
- 3 sticks celery
- 2 tbsp chipotle paste
- 4 bay leaves
- 25 g rosemary sprigs
- 1 l stock chicken or vegetable
- 700 g butter beans jar and the liquid
- 25 g dill
- 1 orange
- 150 g feta
- olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220°C fan.
- Peel and cut the onions into chunky wedges, peel and cut the squash into bit-sized pieces discard the seeds and pith. Toss the whole lot onto a baking tray, dress with plenty of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Slide into the oven and cook for 30 – 35 minutes until deeply roasted, completly tender and starting to char.
- Cut the celery sticks into chunky diamonds. Preheat a large sauncepan or cast-iron pot over a medium heat and add a generous glug of olive oil. Tip in the celery and add a pinch of salt. Cook for 8 – 9 minutes, stiring regularly until it starts to sweat and soften. Add the chipotle paste and crank up the heat. Stir the pastes through the veggies to coat and cook over a high heat for 6 – 7 minutes until the mixture starts to caramalise. Drop the herbs in (leave the rosemary stems intact) and cook for a minute or two before adding the stock. Scrape the bottom of the pan to draw up any colour or gnarly flavour that might have developed at the base of the pan. Bring the whole lot to a bare simmer.
- Tip the beans into a bowl and use a fork to squash around a third into a smooth-ish paste. Tip the whole lot into the pan of soup and stir through. Bring back to a simmer and notice the soup thicken. Cook for 25 – 30 minutes.
- While the soup simmers, prepare the garnishes – finely chop the dill, zest the orange and crumble the feta. Once the soup has been simmering for 25 minutes add the roasted squash and onions, turn up the heat slightly and bubble for a final 5 – 6 minutes.
- Remove the soup from the heat and fish out the bay leaves and rosemary stems. Finish the soup with the dill and zest and juice of the orange. Season with salt and pepper and then divide among warm bowls. Top with the crumbled feta, a little olive oil and a twist of pepper.
