Croutons Galore: Delicious Butternut Leek Soup to Warm Up Your Autumn
Looking to warm up as the temperature drops? Indulge in a delicious butternut squash and leek soup. Are you ready to give it a try?
The comfort of a soup in autumn
Autumn, with its drop in temperature and blanket of dead leaves, encourages the search for comfort. And what better way to find it than with a delicious soup? A butternut squash and leek velouté, prepared with beautiful seasonal vegetables, perfectly meets this need.
Small guide for a successful soup
Making this soup requires some specific ingredients, starting with a butternut squash weighing around 1.3 kg and 500g of leeks. Add to that 4 tablespoons of olive oil, a bouquet garni, 1 liter of vegetable broth, 2 pinches of salt, and 4 pinches of Espelette pepper.
Preparation steps
The first step is to peel the butternut squash and cut it into large cubes. The leeks should then be cleaned, with the first few leaves and the stem removed, before being sliced. The leek slices are then sautéed in olive oil in a large pot or saucepan, before adding the butternut cubes. Once the cubes are slightly golden, the bouquet garni and vegetable broth are added, making sure they cover the vegetables well.
Cooking requires about thirty minutes at a simmer, until the vegetables are tender. “Check the cooking with the tip of a knife.”
Once the cooking is done, remove the bouquet garni and blend the vegetables. All that’s left is to adjust the seasoning with salt if necessary and sprinkle the soup with Espelette pepper before serving hot, accompanied by croutons.
Tips for a successful velouté
To make peeling the butternut squash easier, the trick is to attack it with a peeler and cut it into thick slices.
You can also add roasted pumpkin seeds, a drizzle of olive oil, or a splash of cream to your soup, according to your preferences. Adding grated cheese, such as parmesan, gruyère, or comté, is also possible. Finally, this soup can be stored for up to 4 days in the refrigerator, in a tightly closed container.