At this time of year, hearty soup recipes come into their own. This will keep covered in the fridge for a few days, so is a welcome standby when you don’t have the time or the inclination to cook.
Ingredients (Serves 6-8)
- Half a small pumpkin or butternut squash, about (about 1½ lb or 700g), peeled and roughly chopped into 2-inch (5 cm) chunks
- 2 red onions, peeled and quartered
- 4 apples, peeled, cored and chopped into small chunks (use a tool like this OXO Good Grips apple corer from Amazon)
- 3 sticks celery, chopped into small chunks
- 6 cloves garlic
- Olive oil, to drizzle
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Leaves of ½ medium bunch thyme
- 4¼ cups (1 litre) good-quality chicken stock
- For the brittle
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup (200 g) superfine sugar
- ½ cup (50g) hazelnuts, crushed
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 2 tsp sea salt
Method
- Preheat the oven to 400°F / 200°C. Put the pumpkin in one of the best roasting pans with the onions, apples, and celery. Bash the garlic cloves in their skins and add to the tin. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the brittle. In a large dry frying pan, toast the fennel seeds for 30 seconds, then roughly bash with a pestle and mortar (like this Priority Chef pestle and mortar from Amazon) . Lightly oil a large sheet of baking paper and set aside.
- Put the sugar and 2 tbsp water in the frying pan over a medium heat. Stay with the pan while it bubbles and swirl it around now and then. After about 10 minutes, the sugar will start to turn into a thick golden caramel.
- Once this happens, tip it onto the oiled paper. Sprinkle over the fennel seeds, hazelnuts, chilli and sea salt, and set aside to harden.
- After the vegetables have roasted for 20 minutes, toss them together well and add the thyme leaves. Return to the oven to roast for a further 20 minutes.
- Once the vegetables are cooked and golden, transfer to a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the stock and blend with a hand blender until smooth and heated through.
- Smash the brittle and serve the soup with pieces of brittle on top.
Looking for more comforting dishes to ward off the winter chill? Try these slow cooker ideas, and read our guide to getting ahead with meal prepping.
