We were entertaining again last night, as Will and Becs came to visit from Walthamstow. An enjoyable evening was had by all, but to push ourselves a little further and divert from our now almost traditional menu of soup, quiche and salad, followed by chocolate mousse (all easy to make and useful if you have a glut of eggs like us), I made a different soup for our starter course.
Like the roasted pepper and tomato soup I made a couple of weeks ago, this one is also packed full of vegetable goodness, and is thick and creamy, thanks to the blended tofu. Not enough people use squashes as they seem to be afraid of them, but the butternut variety gives this recipe a lovely taste and golden colour.
This recipe goes especially well with home-baked crusty bread (but it can be quite filling), and makes four hearty bowlfuls.
Ingredients
1 large onion
200g of carrots
1 butternut squash (approximately 750g to 1kg in weight)
1 slice of root ginger
600ml (1 pint) of vegetable stock
250g tofu (if frozen, defrosted)
Method
Chop the onion roughly, and the carrots and squash into large cubes. Place the onion in a large saucepan or stock pot with a little olive oil, and heat gently until soft or for 10 minutes. Add the carrots, butternut squash, ginger and stock to the pan, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Chop the tofu into rough cubes and add to the vegetable mixture, returning the pan to the boil once more. Once boiled, simmer the mixture for a further 10 minutes. Process the whole mixture through a food processor until smooth and creamy.
Serve into warmed soup bowls, or pour back into the saucepan and leave until ready to eat. When ready to serve, warm gently, and serve with crusty bread, stirring in a little cream if necessary. Like the roasted pepper and tomato soup, this recipe can be made in batches, bagged, and put into the freezer, providing that the tofu hasn’t been frozen before.
Tags: Journal, Make your own
Hey, I was reading your post and I just wanted to thank you for putting out such great content. There is so much nonsense on the internet these days its hard to find anything worthwhile. I actually have cooked this recipe before, I got this book last month on recommendation from a friend http://ninjahq.com/go/cookingrecipes and it turned out really nice! I’m extremely eager to try your variation of it though, it looks excellent. I think you might enjoy those recipes, they’re very good. Thanks for the article and great ideas.