Butternut soup: thai, fall & oriental versions
Ingredients
Ingredients for the soup basis
- 500 g butternut squash
- 1 large potato
- 1 carrot
- 1 l vegetable broth
- 1 pinch salt fleur de sel
Ingredients for a thai-style seasoning (quantities = 1/3 of the soup basis)
- 10 to 20 cl coconut milk
- fresh ginger
- fresh coriander leaves
- A handful of peanuts
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- Lime optional
Ingredients for an oriental-style seasoning (quantities = 1/3 of the soup basis)
- 1 to 2 tbsp orange or lemon zest
- 2 to 3 tsp candied lemon paste or tamarind
- sumac or zaatar
Ingredients for an autumn-style seasoning (quantities = 1/3 of the soup basis)
- 60 g mushrooms porcini, shiitake, button mushroom of your choice
- A small handful of hazelnuts
- A small handful of pumpkin seeds
- pumpkin seed oil
Instructions
Preparation of the soup
- Peel and cut the butternut squash into large cubes, as well as the potato and carrot.
- Pour the vegetables into a casserole and cover with hot vegetable stock.
- Cook for 30 minutes with a lid until the vegetables can be easily pierced with the tip of a knife.
- Remove several ladles of broth (keep the broth in a bowl for instance) and mix.
- Add some more broth if you prefer a more liquid soup.
- Add salt and mix.
- You have the base of your soup which you will be able to season according to different options described below!
Thai-style seasoning
- Gradually add the coconut milk to your soup, cooking over very low heat for a few minutes. Mix well to homogenize.
- Adjust the quantity of coconut milk according to whether you want a more or less pronounced taste and a rather thick or rather liquid soup.
- Finely chop 1 cm of fresh ginger and add it to the soup.
- Mix again and remove the soup from the heat.
- Just before serving, sprinkle with sesame seeds, peanuts and coriander leaves.
- You can squeeze a lime wedge into your soup bowl.
Oriental-style seasoning
- Add the candied lemon paste to your soup, adjusting the quantity according to your taste.
- Mix well to homogenize and cook over very low heat for a few minutes.
- Just before serving, zest half an orange or a lemon (use organic fruits), and add the zest into the soup.
- Sprinkle with sumac or zaatar, as much as you like!
Autumn-style seasoning
- Slice the mushrooms into strips and fry them in a pan with a little butter until they are softening.
- Just before serving the soup, pour the hot mushrooms into your soup bowl.
- Add a small drizzle of pumpkin seed oil, the pumpkin seeds and a few hazelnuts!
Notes
The quantity for the ingredients I gave for the each seasoning correspond to the quantity of 1/3 of the soup that you will obtain following the amount of ingredients I indicated.
Usually, I divide the soup in 3 batches so that I can make 3 different soups!