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Comments: Take care with chopping the onion and garlic etc.
And with cutting the butternut squash!

Preparation Time: 30 - 40 minutes
Cooking Time: 55 minutes (the squash can be cooking whilst you make the soup)
Number of servings: 4
Serving suggestions: Serve with warm crusty bread.
This is a vegetarian recipe


This is lovely comfort food for the chilly evenings – surprisingly delicious.

You will only really need half a butternut squash for this – I suggest you roast all of it, mash the other half up and freeze it – or you could double the soup ingredients and then freeze half the soup when you have made it!

If you cannot get fresh ginger, try 1 teaspoon of ground ginger

500 grams butternut squash, cooked and pureed (see below)
2 large (or 3 small) pears
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
25 gm fresh ginger
2 tablespoons olive oil
600 ml vegetable stock
125 ml double cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
Small bunch chives

Always wash your hands before preparing food.

Roasting the squash:
Preheat oven to 180C, 375 F, gas mark 4.
Grease a roasting tin with a little oil
Cut butternut squash in half along its length
Scoop out seeds
Put squash in tin cut side up
Cover with foil
Roast between 30 and 45 minutes until it is tender .
Allow to cool and scoop out the flesh and mash (or puree in a blender).

Meanwhile the soup :
Peel onion and chop with garlic and ginger as finely as possible
Heat oil in large saucepan
Stir in onion, garlic, ginger and some salt.
Cover pan, lower heat and let it ‘sweat’ for 10-15 minutes – don’t let it brown.
Peel, core and roughly chop the pears.
Stir into the pan with the stock.
Heat to a simmer then cover and simmer for 20 minutes (until the pear is very soft).
Then add pureed squash and cream and check the seasoning.
Keep warm till serving then top with chopped chives (optional)

Without the chives