Holly's hearty vegetable soup recipe
A delicious, rich and hearty vegetable soup to comfort you after a day out in the cold and/or wet weather this season.
I don’t know about where you are but Autumn has certainly arrived down in West Sussex over the last week. The warmth of the late summer sun has been replaced with a crisp, but refreshing chill in the air.
Autumn is without doubt my favourite of the seasons, and as I’ve wandered through life I enjoy it’s subtleties more and more; the morning mist before it disappears once the sun rises and reaches it’s surveying position for the day, or the richness of the leaves as they change from their fresh, full greens to warmer tones of auburn, copper and earthy browns.
The fond for many, arrival of Autumn brings with it the desire to hunker down with blankets and fluffy socks, to light candles and fires, and to dig out those comforting recipes.
Speaking of, I have one for you. For someone like me, who is often on the go, soup is such a versatile meal. I can warm a bowl for a quick meal after a long day out in the elements, and equally I can fill a flask to bring with me down to the yard.
My recipe might take a little longer than some, but it’s well worth the wait. I tend to begin frying everything when the oven has around 15 minutes left.
Holly’s hearty homemade vegetable soup:
Ingredients:
1/2 butternut squash, sliced.
3 carrots, chopped into disks
4 parsnips, chopped into disks
2 green cooking apples, cubed
2 sticks of celery, chopped into small cubes
1 leek, chopped into small slices
1 onion, finely chopped
Honey, to drizzle over carrots and parsnips before roasting
150ml double cream
50ml white wine
3 chicken stock cubes (vegetarian or vegan options can be used)
Salt and pepper to season
Method:
Start by preheating your oven to 180C, then place your butternut squash in a small baking tray, drizzle with some olive oil, salt and pepper and place in the oven for approx 25 minutes.
In a larger tray, place the chopped carrots and parsnips and drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper, again place in the oven for around 35 minutes. After around 15 minutes, remove and drizzle with honey, shaking to ensure veg is well covered, before placing back in.
Take a large frying pan, and first add some olive oil, your onion, followed by the leeks, apple and celery and cook on a medium heat until all has softened. The trick with the apples is to slice these as small as possible so that they soften at a similar rate to the celery, onion and leeks.
Once these have softened, add to a large, deep saucepan. You’ll want to boil the kettle and using a mixing jug, fill to approx 700ml and add one of your chicken stock cubes. Stirring until it has dissolved, add the stock to the pan and begin to heat on a medium to low heat.
Remove the butternut squash, carrots and parsnips from the oven. Empty into the saucepan, including any of the oil or honey, stir to combine all of the vegetables together. As it begins to slowly cook down, repeat the above process with the other two stock cubes, adding more liquid. Reduce the heat to a simmer, adding the 50ml of white wine and leave to cook down for around 20 minutes, allowing everything to soften and soak up the delicious flavours.
Next, take a blender and begin to blend the mixture into batches. I usually grab a mixing bowl and transfer the blended mix into here before returning to the saucepan once fully blended. You can blend this to your own taste, however I always leave it slightly thicker for a heartier, fuller flavour.
Once fully blended, you’ll want to slowly heat your soup mix, adding in your 150ml of double cream, stirring as you go. Add salt and pepper to taste. More cream or liquid can be added if you want a thinner texture.
Once you’re happy with the texture and taste, you can serve straight away, saving the rest for later. Once cooled, you can transfer the soup into containers to store in the fridge ready to be heated up at a moment’s notice!
Enjoy! Have you got any go-to Autumn recipes? We’d love to hear from you! Email us on press@countrywomansguide.co.uk with yours!