Butternut and Sweet Potato Soup
Roasted butternut and sweet potato blended with ginger, orange juice and warming spices until silky smooth. Bright, spiced and nothing like the flat, bland versions you've had before. Top with cheesy croutons and toasted seeds and call it dinner.
Butternut soup is on every South African menu from June to August, the kind of thing that shows up at school fundraisers, church lunches and Sunday family tables the moment the temperature drops. It is one of those dishes that almost every South African cook has a version of, usually passed down, usually tweaked over years. This version from Cape Town food photographer and recipe developer Sam Linsell of Drizzle and Dip is the one that gets it right. Ginger, orange and a hit of masala give it the warmth and brightness that most butternut soups miss entirely. In the UAE the "winter" window is short, but when it arrives, this is exactly what you want on the stove.
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut
- 1 large orange sweet potato,
- 2 carrots
- 1 large onion
- 1 large leek,
- 30 ml olive oil
- few sprigs of fresh parsley
- 3 bay leaves
- 6 cm ginger
- 5 ml ground turmeric
- 2 cloves garlic
- a pinch of chilli flakes
- 5 ml masala or mild curry powder
- 2.5 ml ground cumin
- 1.25 l litres vegetable stock
- 1 orange juice
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 125 ml fresh cream or coconut milk, to finish
Method
- Optional but recommended: toss the butternut, sweet potato and carrots in olive oil, spread onto a baking tray, season and roast at 180°C for 35-40 minutes until just cooked and starting to colour. This adds real depth.
- In a large heavy-based pot, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onion and leek or celery and sweat with the lid on for about 10 minutes until soft.
- Add the bay leaves, parsley, garlic and spices and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add the roasted or raw vegetables to the pot. Pour in the stock and orange juice. Cover and simmer gently for 45 minutes if using roasted veg, or about 1 hour if the vegetables are raw.
- Remove the bay leaves. Allow to cool slightly, then blend until completely smooth with a stick blender or in a liquidiser.
- Stir in the cream or coconut milk. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Serve the soup hot, topped with croutons, toasted pumpkin seeds and a swirl of cream.
Notes
Method
Soup
- Optional: roast the butternut, sweet potato and carrots at 180°C for 35-40 minutes in olive oil, salt and pepper. Recommended for extra depth.
- Sweat the onion and leek or celery in olive oil and butter, lid on, for 10 minutes.
- Add bay leaves, parsley, garlic and spices. Cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add vegetables, stock and orange juice. Simmer covered for 45 minutes (roasted veg) or 1 hour (raw veg).
- Remove bay leaves. Blend until smooth. Stir in cream or coconut milk. Season to taste.
Cheesy croutons
- Toss bread cubes in melted butter on a baking tray. Roast at 180°C for 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle cheddar over and return to oven until golden and crisp.
- Serve soup topped with croutons, toasted pumpkin seeds and a swirl of cream.
Freezes well. Cool completely, portion into containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat gently in a pot. To make it vegan: use olive oil only and finish with coconut milk instead of cream.