South African Butternut Soup

ZAR-INA's Note:

This recipe is so simple, and yet is the tastiest butternut soup ever! I am quite sure that the chilli pepper has a great deal to do with its success, it really is just a hint of a burn, but brings out the rich, nutty flavour of the squash perfectly. For this recipe to be truly wonderful, a home-made chicken stock is the ideal choice, so the little time it takes to boil up some chicken carcasses and herbs is well worth the trouble, there are loads of simple recipes for chicken and other stocks in almost every cookbook and on most cooking websites. If you don't want to take the time to make your own stock though, then make one from a stock cube or powder. I do not honestly know what can be used as a substitute for the butternut squash, if it is not available in your country, because pumpkin does not work well, although it does look similar to a butternut in colour. The texture of a butternut is much smoother and finer than pumpkin, and it is a lot sweeter. Perhaps it is rather more like a sweet potato in both texture and colour than a pumpkin.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 45 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 6-8

Yield: 2.0 litres

• 1 ½ kg butternut squash
• 2 large brown onions , finely chopped
• 3 small garlic cloves, finely chopped or 1 elephant garlic clove
• 500 ml chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 250 ml water
• 3 small strong green chilies or 1 large jalapeno , no pips, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 250 ml fresh pouring cream

Directions:

1. Peel and pip the butternuts, and cut it into about 5cm square chunks.
2. Peel and chop the onions quite finely.
3. Chop the garlic very finely, or push through a garlic press.
4. Halve the Jalapeno pepper or green chillies and scrape out all the pips. Chop the green flesh very finely.
5. Put the onions, garlic and chillies into the melted butter in a saucepan on a moderate heat and cook until the onions are soft and transparent. Add the lemon juice and chicken stock and stir until well mixed.
6. Add the water and the cubes of butternut, and simmer until the soup is thick and all the ingredients are well blended together, about 1 hour.
7. Liquidise with a Bamix or a food processer.
8. Serve hot.
9. Swirl a tablespoon or two of fresh cream into the centre of each bowl of soup just before serving.