Peatt.net

I made this soup a few weeks ago and haven’t stopped thinking about it since… it was soo good!  It was healthy, cheap to make and hearty.  The chestnuts make the soup thick and give it the starch.  They also inject great flavour and a creamy texture without the cream (and fat).  I used my new cast iron pot to make it and really fell in love with this new addition to the kitchen.  Hope you have as much fun with it as I did! 

• 2 large butternut squash
• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 2 dried chillies
• A few glugs olive oil
• 10 slices pancetta, cut into 1/2-inch (1 centimetre) pieces (I used bacon, it worked fine)
• A bunch fresh sage
• 11 ounces (300 grams) chestnuts (I bought these at the store, skored them and roasted them for 20 min before shelling them and putting them in the soup)
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• About 2 3/4 pints (1 1/2 litres) chicken stock
• 4 tablespoons sour cream
• Extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. (200 degrees C/Gas 6)

Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds, reserving these for later. Using your pestle and mortar, bash up the coriander and chili, nice and fine, and sprinkle over the squash. Drizzle with a little oil and roast in a hot oven until nice and soft.

Heat a little oil in a large pan and fry the pancetta with half the sage leaves. Add the chestnuts and the onion and fry gently for about 15 minutes. By this time the squash will be ready, so spoon it out into the pan, leaving the skin behind. Cover with the stock and bring to the boil. Remove half the mixture and blend until smooth, then pour back into the pan. 

Take the rest of the sage leaves and the reserved squash seeds and fry them in a little oil until crisp. To serve, spoon a little sour cream on top of the soup, sprinkle with a little of the crisp sage and seeds, and finish with a good drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.