Butternut Soup with Crispy Sage and Apple Croutons

Name: Butternut Soup with Crispy Sage and Apple Croutons
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: british
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 large onion chopped; 1 garlic clove chopped; 1 butternut squash about 1kg, peeled, deseeded and chopped; 3 tbsp madeira or dry Sherry; 500ml gluten-free vegetable stock plus a little extra if necessary; 1 tsp chopped sage plus 20 small leaves, cleaned and dried; sunflower oil for frying; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 large eating apple peeled, cored and diced; a few pinches of golden caster sugar

4.65 (8)

⏱ 50 mins 🍽 Serves 4 🌶 british ✅ Easy 🏷 Main course

This British starter combines naturally sweet butternut squash with a savoury base of onion and garlic, simmered in Madeira and stock. The soup is blended until velvety smooth, then served with contrasting toppings of crisp fried sage leaves and diced apple lightly caramelised with sugar. It's a gluten-free, low-fat option perfect for a festive lunch or supper, serving four people.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion chopped
1 garlic clove chopped
1 butternut squash about 1kg, peeled, deseeded and chopped
3 tbsp madeira or dry Sherry
500ml gluten-free vegetable stock plus a little extra if necessary
1 tsp chopped sage plus 20 small leaves, cleaned and dried
sunflower oil for frying
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large eating apple peeled, cored and diced
a few pinches of golden caster sugar

Method

Warm the oil in a large saucepan, then cook the chopped onion for 5 mins. Stir in the garlic and squash pieces, cooking for a further 5 mins. Add the Madeira and stock, mix through the chopped sage, cover the pan and simmer for 20 mins until the squash is soft.
Use a hand blender or food processor to purée the mixture until smooth. Let it cool in the pan before chilling until needed. It can be stored for 2 days or frozen for 3 months. To prepare the crispy sage, heat roughly 2cm of oil in a small pan. Fry the sage leaves in batches until crisp, then drain on kitchen paper. These will keep for several hours.
Just before you plan to serve, gently reheat the soup in a pan. It should have a thick, velvety texture. add a little extra stock if it seems too thick.
For the apple croutons, heat the oil in a large frying pan. Cook the diced apple until it begins to soften. Sprinkle over the sugar and stir until the apple is lightly caramelised.
To serve, portion the hot soup into small bowls. Garnish each with the caramelised apple, crispy sage leaves and a grind of black pepper.