Roast Butternut Squash and Chestnut Soup
Ingredients
- 2 medium onions, peeled and finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large (approx. 1kg) butternut squash peeled, de-seeded and chopped into 3-4 cm cubes
- 1 litre vegetable stock
- 150g Merchant Gourmet Chestnut Puree
- 100g Merchant Gourmet Whole Chestnuts, Simply Roasted
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chestnut yoghurt
- 50g Merchant Gourmet Chestnut Puree
- 100g vegan yoghurt
Topping
- 100g Merchant Gourmet Whole Chestnuts, Simply Roasted, sliced thinly
- 6-7 tbsp sliced chives
Preparation
Get a large saucepan, add the onion, garlic, and vegetable oil, cover and sweat over a medium heat for 8 minutes until soft, then add the squash and turn up the heat to fry for 5 minutes until lightly browned.
Add the stock, chestnut puree, whole chestnuts, and tomato puree, bring to the boil and boil rapidly for 10 minutes or until the squash is soft, topping up with water if the liquid goes below the level of the vegetables.
Take the pan off the heat, blend the soup in a liquidiser for 1-2 minutes until it is totally smooth, and season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Blend the chestnut puree and vegan yoghurt together for 1 minute to make the chestnut yogurt, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve the soup very hot with a swirl of the chestnut yoghurt, the sliced chestnuts, and chives.