Spiced Squash Soup with Crispy Chorizo
I love pumpkin/squash soup :) especially if it has a little hint of chilli. Oh how I love chilli. This soup however, does not have any chilli in it. Instead, it gets its heat from something else entirely. Cumin. Just a little bit of cumin made a whole world of difference. The delicately spiced squash soup topped with a little crispy fried chorizo was like heaven in a bowl. Perfect for a cold autumn night.
Ingredients:
1 large onion, sliced
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 celery stick, roughly chopped
¼ tsp cumin seeds
2 small winter squashes, de-seeded and roughly chopped (keep the skin on)
1 small chorizo, finely diced
vegetable stock
olive oil
salt
pepper
Method:
Heat ½ tsp of oil in a pot.
Throw in the carrot, onion, celery and cumin seeds into the pot. Let it fry in the oil for about 2 mins under a medium heat, taking care not to colour the vegetables.
Now add the squash and enough vegetable stock to cover the squash.
Leave it to simmer for about 20-25 mins or until the squash is fully cooked. The skin of the squash should be soft enough to be cut with a spoon.
Once the squash is fully cooked, blend everything with a hand blender (or a normal blender) until you get a smooth soup.
At this stage you can adjust the seasoning and viscosity of the soup by adding more salt, pepper or water/stock. I like a thick soup but not one that is so thick you can cut it with a knife!
For the chorizo: Simply fry off the finely diced chorizo in a little oil until it’s lovely & crispy and then set it aside until you’re ready to serve the soup. Make sure you reserve the oil that you cooked the chorizo in as well.
Plating up: Pour the soup into a bowl. Make some swirls with a little cream; top it with some nuggets of crispy chorizo and a light drizzling of the chorizo oil.
I fry my onions, carrots and celery for every 8 out of 10 soup that I make. You don’t really need to. I know a lot of people just chuck all their soup ingredients into a pot and boil away. AND I’m sure the flavour of the soup would probably be the same but… I just like frying them first lol.
Cumin Seeds are said to hold a wealth of health benefits.
Many South Asian cultures use cumin seeds to aid digestion.
Cumin seeds are a good source of Iron, though you would have to eat an inordinate amount of cumin to reach your daily iron intake.
New research has this amazing seed linked to cancer prevention!
I often save the seeds from pumpkins and squashes to make some seriously delicious Spicy Roasted Seeds.
Pumpkin/Squash seeds are high in fibre, making them healthy as well as delicious! They contain C, D, E, K and most of the B vitamins. They are used to treat prostate and bladder problems and were also used by the Native Americans to get rid of intestinal parasites!
A little oil goes a long way when it comes to frying chorizo as the chorizo itself releases a fair bit of oil during the cooking process. Do not be tempted to throw away the oil. That oil is packed full of flavour and will do wonders for soups, salad, stews, savoury rice…the list is endless!
Packed lunch anyone?
Ingredients:
1 large onion, sliced
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 celery stick, roughly chopped
¼ tsp cumin seeds
2 small winter squashes, de-seeded and roughly chopped (keep the skin on)
1 small chorizo, finely diced
vegetable stock
olive oil
salt
pepper
Method:
Heat ½ tsp of oil in a pot.
Throw in the carrot, onion, celery and cumin seeds into the pot. Let it fry in the oil for about 2 mins under a medium heat, taking care not to colour the vegetables.
Now add the squash and enough vegetable stock to cover the squash.
Leave it to simmer for about 20-25 mins or until the squash is fully cooked. The skin of the squash should be soft enough to be cut with a spoon.
Once the squash is fully cooked, blend everything with a hand blender (or a normal blender) until you get a smooth soup.
At this stage you can adjust the seasoning and viscosity of the soup by adding more salt, pepper or water/stock. I like a thick soup but not one that is so thick you can cut it with a knife!
For the chorizo: Simply fry off the finely diced chorizo in a little oil until it’s lovely & crispy and then set it aside until you’re ready to serve the soup. Make sure you reserve the oil that you cooked the chorizo in as well.
Plating up: Pour the soup into a bowl. Make some swirls with a little cream; top it with some nuggets of crispy chorizo and a light drizzling of the chorizo oil.
I fry my onions, carrots and celery for every 8 out of 10 soup that I make. You don’t really need to. I know a lot of people just chuck all their soup ingredients into a pot and boil away. AND I’m sure the flavour of the soup would probably be the same but… I just like frying them first lol.
Cumin Seeds are said to hold a wealth of health benefits.
Many South Asian cultures use cumin seeds to aid digestion.
Cumin seeds are a good source of Iron, though you would have to eat an inordinate amount of cumin to reach your daily iron intake.
New research has this amazing seed linked to cancer prevention!
I often save the seeds from pumpkins and squashes to make some seriously delicious Spicy Roasted Seeds.
Pumpkin/Squash seeds are high in fibre, making them healthy as well as delicious! They contain C, D, E, K and most of the B vitamins. They are used to treat prostate and bladder problems and were also used by the Native Americans to get rid of intestinal parasites!
A little oil goes a long way when it comes to frying chorizo as the chorizo itself releases a fair bit of oil during the cooking process. Do not be tempted to throw away the oil. That oil is packed full of flavour and will do wonders for soups, salad, stews, savoury rice…the list is endless!
Packed lunch anyone?