Sarah Graham's Roasted Butternut & Apple Soup with Bacon Croutons

Hi Guys

As many of you know, the Western Cape is experiencing its worst drought in over 100 years. The dams that provide the City of Cape Town with drinking water are dangerously low and at the beginning of the month Level 4 water restrictions were implemented, which limits potable water usage to 100L per person per day.

Since last week we have been watching a strong storm developing over the Atlantic which is promising to bring between 50 and 100mm of much prayed for rain to our drought-stricken area on Wednesday and Thursday. Snow is also being predicted for the high lying mountain areas! HOORAY! So, with that in mind and it already being much colder in the evenings, I thought I'd share with you a soup recipe that I will be trying out to warm us up. It's from one of my favourite local chefs, Sarah Graham.

Ingredients

Cooks in:  1 hour (mostly unattended)
Serves: 4-6

For roasting:
750g butternut, peeled and diced. Save the pips to pan fry as extra croutons
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp each of cinnamon, rosemary and nutmeg
1 tsp dried sage
2 medium red onions, roughly chopped
2-3 apples, peeled cored and roughly chopped
1 Tbsp of butter
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp each of cinnamon, rosemary and nutmeg
1 tsp dried sage

3 cups of good quality chicken or veggie stock

200g streaky bacon
Salt and freshly group pepper

What to do:

1. Rub the butternut with olive oil and sprinkle over the herbs and spices. Roast them in an oven at 180 degrees for 30-40 minutes until the butternut is golden and starts to caramelise.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and butter and gently cook the onions until softened before adding the apple and cooking gently for about 10 minutes until they have softened completely. Add the herbs and spices.
3. Fry the bacon until it is golden and crispy and set aside on kitchen paper. Toss in the pips and fry in the remainder of the bacon fat.
4. Add the butternut and remaining ingredients to the pot and gently simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and blend to a consistency of your choice. Season to taste and serve with a scattering of bacon and butternut seed "croutons".

(Photo from 'Sarah Graham's Food Safari Season 2' by Ricardo de Leça)

What could possibly be more delicious and satisfying on a cold, stormy night than the good ol' South African favourite of butternut soup? You can thank me later.

Until next time,

XX-L