Soup season has arrived, there is a chill in the air in the mornings and in the evenings you can almost smell wood-burning stoves. This time of year always reminds me of rushing home from school to a hot dinner, the fire on and getting cosy. The Danes call it hygge but I think every country has their own version of getting hygge, we just need to remember how to do it. I remember it as hot soups and stews, warm fires in the evenings, the curtains drawn and not going out after dark, it was getting your PJs on as soon as the sun went down and wrapping up in a blanket with a hot chocolate or Bournvita in my case (oh, by the way, can we please bring back Bournvita, someone please start a petition, I miss this so much! ).
I love making soup, sometimes it's a therapeutic practice for me, it helps me shift from the salad days of Summer to the cooler days and warmer foods of Autumn. But not all soups have made it to my soup bowl. I've always had a love-hate relationship with butternut squash, I love it roasted, in risotto or with pasta but I have always hated it in soup, that is until now! This roast butternut squash and parsnip soup came about because I bought too many butternut squashes the other day, and I really wanted to make soup and well I don't like wasting stuff. The problem I have with butternut squash soup is the texture. I've never liked the silky smooth texture of this soup, it almost felt slimy to me, yeah I know that sounds weird but hey we're all different, my husband has the same issue with bananas! And I'm definitely not alone on this one, I know a few people who have the same issue.
So not one to give up I figured if I roast the squash it might make a difference, I just don't know why I've never thought of doing this until now, anyway, the dilemma solved, I can now eat roast butternut squash soup! So to celebrate I'm sharing this roast butternut squash & parsnip soup today, it's topped with crispy chorizo, roasted and lightly spiced chickpeas and a crumbling of feta, because soups deserve more than just bread. This soup is a real warm your cockles kind of soup with warming spices, sweet earthy roasted garlic, roasted squash and parsnips and not to mention the toppings again but they really turn this soup into a very tasty, satisfying meal suitable for your evening meal or lunch.
Roast Butternut Squash and Parsnip Soup
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash (850g) peeled and cut into chunks
- 3 medium parsnips (425g) peeled and cut into chunks
- ⅛ teaspoon each of sea salt and ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves fat cloves of garlic skin on
- 1 medium brown onion (125g) peeled and roughly diced
- 1 level tsp of cumin
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 4 or 5 sprigs of thyme
- 1 Litre vegetable stock
Toppings
- 70 g chorizo , sliced
- 120 g cooked chickpeas
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 50 g feta
Instructions
- Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees C, I use a fan assisted electric oven so please adjust according to your oven.
- Place the butternut squash, parsnips and garlic on a large baking tray, add 2 tablespoons of oil, salt and pepper, make sure everything is coated in the oil then roast for 35 minutes, giving it a turnover halfway through.
- While the vegetables are roasting dry fry the chorizo slices, when nice and crispy remove from the pan and place on a some kitchen paper to soak up the oil. When it has cooled chop it up into small pieces.
- Now heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and cook over a low to medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until they are soft and golden. Then add the spice and cook for one minute.
- When the veg is soft and almost caramelised at the edges, after about 35 minutes, carefully remove the garlic from the roasting tray and carefully remove the skin and add the soft garlic to the saucepan, if there are any hard bits just discard them, stir the garlic into the onion spice mix.
- Now add the roasted squash, parsnips, stock and thyme sprigs, season with a little sea salt and ground black pepper, stir and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Place the drained and dry chickpeas on the oven tray the veg was on add the smoked paprika, mix well and cook in the oven for about 10 minutes, give the tray a shake half way through.
- After 10 minutes remove the thyme sprigs from the soup, and blend using a hand held blender, blend until smooth.
- Serve hot with the chorizo, chickpeas and some crumbled feta.
Nutrition
Notes: This soup will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, make sure and let it cool down before you put it into the fridge. Keep the topping separate and add to the soup when re-heated.
Want to make this soup vegetarian? Leave the chorizo, and make sure you use vegetarian feta.
Want to make this soup vegan? Leave out the chorizo and feta and serve with chilli seed crackers.
Louise Hersey
Well what can I say other than this was absolutely delicious and has led to me making the curried parsnip soup as well.
And tonight I've changed it up a little and used cauliflower instead of butternut squash.
Michelle Alston
Hi Louise, thanks so much! I'm so happy you liked it. I love your idea of using cauliflower, I'll have to try that 🙂
Jonnie Graham
Quite simply the best soup I have ever tasted! The addition of the crispy chorizo and feta takes it from incredible to out of this world!
Michelle Alston
Hi Jonnie, thank you so much! I'm so glad to hear that you liked it 🙂
Rosanna
Absolutely beautiful recipe. I'm still sitting at my dinner table after eating 2 bowls of this wonderful soup. Very easy recipe to follow. The chick peas were a lovely extra touch of flavour. This is defo going in our winter menu again. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe. I am amazed at how lovely it tasted...not a huge fan of squash but LOVE parsnips. Superb ❤
Michelle Alston
Thank you so much for your lovely comment Rosanna! I'm so glad you liked it 🙂
Ruth Crompton
Being vegan I stuck to just the soup recipe and didn't add the extras, and I can say it was absolutely gorgeous. 5 plus stars! Thanks for the recipe
Michelle Alston
Hi Ruth, thanks so much! I'm so glad you like it.
Jan
Is this soup ok to freeze?
Thank you!
Michelle Alston
Hi Jan, yes this soup is good to freeze. I would freeze it before you add any of the toppings though. it will keep in the freezer for about 3 months. I would defrost it overnight and reheat it on the hob until piping hot. Then add the chorizo (if using) and the chickpeas and feta.
Michelle
Was amazing, thank you for sharing,
Michelle Alston
Thanks so much Michelle, I'm so glad you liked it.
Fiona Leslie
Just made this soup and it is delicious - thank you so much!
Fiona
Michelle Alston
Thanks Fiona, I'm so glad you liked it 🙂
Lynne Curry
Warming, nourishing, colorful--and I adore the toppings!
One question: I've always had trouble with roasting chickpeas because they tend to get soggy or overly chewy. Do you have any tips for getting them crunchy?
Michelle Alston
Hi Lynne, I use tinned chickpeas and I dry them completely with kitchen paper before roasting. Also I don't use much oil and usually don't roast them for too long, maybe 10 minutes 😉 Hope that helps x
Hana | Nirvana Cakery
I love roasted parsnip and squash and I love thick winter soups! And I bet this tastes utterly amazing! xx
Michelle Alston
Thanks Hana, I love thick soups too and yep it tasted really good 😉
Julia @ HappyFoods Tube
Gorgeous looking soup and the toppings - yummy! I love soups no matter what season so definitely trying this one!
Michelle Alston
Thanks Julia 🙂
Sasha @ Eat Love Eat
I'm so ready for soup season! The mornings and evenings are getting seriously chilly now. I'm not a fan of squash but I would definitely give this a go it looks so good! I like the addition of parsnip and well, anything with chickpeas and chorizo on top has got to be good! (oh and I had to google what bournvita is haha! looks like you can still buy it on the good old internet!) xx
Michelle Alston
Thanks Sasha, I'm really glad to hear you might give this a go, let me know if you do 😉 Haha you are far to young to know what Bournvita is, last time I looked online it was sold in bulk, my kitchen is too small for buckets of bournvita :-))
Rebecca Goodman
I love butternut squash and this soup looks amazing your photos are lovely by the way.
Michelle Alston
Thanks Rebecca 🙂