Roasted butternut and bacon soup

Recipe by Rachel Zammit Cutajar

Photo by Rachel Zammit Cutajar

As temperatures drop just a little it seems more appropriate (and certainly more comforting) to have soups over salads. Squash makes for excellent soup. Pair it with bacon and you have a match made in soup heaven. 

Roasted butternut and bacon soup

Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 8 rashers streaky bacon
• Handful sage
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• 2 onions, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• Handful celery, chopped
• 4 small potatoes
• ½ glass white wine
• 1 litre vegetable stock

Garnish

• Fried bacon bits
• Cream
• Pumpkin seeds
• Chives

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C. 
2. Cut the butternut squash in half and remove the seeds from the centre.
3. Cut the flesh into large chunks. There is no need to peel as the skin softens with cooking.
4. Place the butternut squash on a baking tray in a single layer. 
5. Season with salt and pepper, coriander seeds and olive oil and rub all over the butternut squash. 
6. Arrange the rasher of bacon around the squash and sprinkle with sage leaves. 
7. Bake in the oven for 30 – 40 mins until soft and tender. 
8. In a large pot, gently fry the onion, garlic and celery until soft. 
9. Add the potatoes and fry for a few mins.
10. Add the roasted butternut squash along with the crispy bacon, sage and coriander seeds, scraping as much as you can from the bottom of the tin. 
11. Add the wine and allow to simmer until the alcohol cooks off, approx. 3 mins.
12. Add the vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and allow to simmer for 20 mins until the potatoes are tender.
13. Blend until smooth.
14. Ladle into serving bowls and top with a little bit of cream, bacon bits, pumpkin seeds and chives.