Oven on 200ºC Peel and slice butternut in half vertically. Scoop out the pips and slice into 1cm half circles. Lay them in a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil and about 1 tsp salt. Stir to ensure even coverage. Roast for approximately 40-45 min. Halfway through the cooking time stir again to ensure they don’t burn. Once cooked and slightly browned set aside 1 large butternut
In a large pot fry an onion in olive oil until soft and translucent
1 large onion finely chopped
Add 2 crushed cloves of garlic, 2 grated carrots and stir for 2 minutes.
2 large garlic cloves roughly chopped, 2 Medium carrots coarsely grated
Add the butternut (not the ones you reserved for garnish with the peel on)
Add grated fresh ginger and 1 red chilli.
2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger, 1 red chilli chopped
Add 1 tsp of salt and 400ml chicken stock.(I made fresh chicken stock yesterday so I used that. You can also use a sachet of stock if you don't have fresh stock available.
400 ml fresh chicken stock
Grate the zest of 1 naartjie. Now slice off the ends of the naartjie and set aside to use later for garnish. Squeeze all the juice of the naartjie into the pot. Simmer for 20 minutes.
1 naartjie zest and juice
Use a stick blender and blitz until smooth.
Add 250ml of cream and blend again. If the soup is too thick add some water or more chicken stock. Check the salt add another tsp.
250 ml cream
I added about 1/4 cup of olive oil and continue to blend until extra smooth and creamy. This really makes a difference and is definitely worth it for the flavour and smooth texture.
2 -8 Tbls olive oil
In a small frying pan bloom some cumin seeds or fennel seeds until nutty and aromatic. Pour soup into warmed bowls add the extra butternut slices, and the naartjie along with some microgreens, the cumin seeds and drizzle with extra olive oil
2 tsp fennel seeds, 2 tsp cumin seed, 4 tbls olive oil or ghee
