Description
This delicious, autumnal tomato and butternut squash soup is served with homemade garlic bread shards for dunking. The garlic bread recipe is super versatile, and would be great served with my Stupidly Simple Lasagne and a green salad. Make this ahead as a weeknight wonder or as a project on a slow, lazy weekend morning.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Soup
- 1 kg (2.2 lb) Tomatoes, halved
- Sea Salt
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 Large White Onion, finely chopped
- 1 Large Carrot, finely chopped
- 2 Celery Sticks, finely chopped
- 3 Garlic Cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp Fennel Seeds
- 5–6 Sprigs Fresh Thyme, tied with string
- 500g (2.2lb) Butternut Squash, peeled and cubed
- 750ml (25 fl oz) Vegetable Stock
For the Garlic Bread
- 2–3 Panini Breads, split down the middle
- 50g Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
- 1 heaped tbsp Finely Chopped Parsley
- 1 Large Garlic Clove, crushed
- Sea Salt
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees (300 fahrenheit). Spread the tomato halves, cut side up across a baking sheet and season well with salt and pepper, and lightly drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Slow roast in the oven for an 1 hour and 30 minutes. Alternatively, if you use an AGA, roast on the base of the simmering oven for 2 hours.
- Meanwhile, gently fry the onion, carrot and the celery in a generous glug of oil over a medium low heat until soft. You’ll want to do this in your largest saucepan. Add the garlic and cook for about 5 minutes more, then stir in the fennel seeds and the thyme bundle.
- Add the butternut squash, the roasted tomatoes, the stock and plenty of seasoning and bring to the boil. Once it is boiling, bring the heat right down to low and simmer, uncovered for 40 minutes.
- Fish out the thyme bundle and blend with a stick blender until smooth. Check the seasoning is to your liking, and place a lid on to keep warm while you make the garlic bread.
- Toast the panini halves either in a toaster or cut side up under a hot grill / broiler.
- Meanwhile, using a fork mash together the butter, crushed garlic clove, parsley and a generous pinch of sea salt. Slater this on the hot panini halves, and cut on the diagonal to create dunkable shards. Serve straight away with a hot bowl of soup and a nice, cold glass of Appletiser.
Notes
Yields four big, hearty bowlfuls, or six smaller ones.