Butternut soup makeover: six ways to add global flavours to an old favourite

Butternut soup has to be everyone's favourite winter warmer: it's comforting, tasty and budget-friendly to boot.

That said, if you're getting a bit bored of serving up the same old bowlful year after year, there's an easy fix: give it a global makeover.

Taking inspiration from the flavours of countries like Thailand and Spain, we've come up with six ways to put an exotic spin on butternut soup:

FIRST THINGS FIRST

HOW TO MAKE A BASIC BUTTERNUT SOUP

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

25ml oil

15ml (1 tbsp) butter

1 large onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, crushed

2 sticks of celery, sliced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 medium butternut, peeled and cubed

1.5 litres of chicken or vegetable stock

Freshly ground salt and black pepper

To serve:

Splash of cream or plain yoghurt

Ground cinnamon

Method:

1. In a large pan with a lid, preheat the oil and add the butter.
2. Once the butter has melted, add the onion and garlic and fry until the onion is just softening.
3. Add the celery and carrots and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the butternut and stir through. Cover with a lid and cook for 3-4 minutes; this helps to intensify the flavour of the veggies.
5. Pour over the stock, season generously and allow to simmer for 30-45 minutes until the butternut is tender.
6. Using a stick blender, blend till just smooth. (For a chunkier soup, blend half of the contents of the pot and return to remaining soup.)
7. Reheat until piping hot, taste for seasoning, and serve topped with a splash of cream or yoghurt and a light sprinkling of cinnamon.

THAI-STYLE BUTTERNUT SOUP WITH PRAWNS

Follow the basic butternut soup recipe, replacing the butter with oil, making it 30ml (2 tbsp).

Heat the oil and add 15-30ml (1-2 tbsp) red curry paste, a 2cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated, a stalk of lemon grass, broken into pieces, and 1 red chilli, seeded and finely sliced, along with the onions and garlic.

Add the celery, carrots and butternut as per the recipe.

Reduce the amount of stock from 1.5 litres to 1 litre and add a 400g can of coconut milk before simmering for 35 minutes.

Add 300g peeled and deveined prawns, the juice of 1 lime, a splash of Thai fish sauce, and freshly ground black pepper and simmer for a further 10 minutes.

Remove the lemon grass before serving piping hot garnished with fresh coriander or Thai basil and some extra chopped chilli.  Serves 6.

SPANISH-STYLE BUTTERNUT SOUP

Slice up a chorizo sausage. In a large pan with a lid, fry the slices on both sides, then remove and set aside.

Continue with the basic butternut soup recipe, using the same pan in which you fried the chorizo and adding 1 chopped red pepper when you add the celery and carrots.

Add 5ml (1 tsp) smoked paprika and ¾ of the chorizo slices to the pan when adding the butternut. 

Add the stock and once the soup has simmered for 30-45 minutes, use a stick blender to blend till just smooth.

Serve the soup topped with the remaining fried chorizo slices and fresh parsley. Serves 6.

ITALIAN-STYLE BUTTERNUT SOUP

Follow the basic butternut soup recipe, replacing the butter with oil making it 30ml (2 tbsp). When frying the onions and garlic, add 4 slices of chopped streaky bacon.

Add 125g green beans, cut into 2cm lengths, 2 baby marrows, sliced, and 1 large potato peeled and cubed, to the pan when adding the butternut.

Add the stock and bring the soup to a simmer for 30 minutes.

Add 125ml (½ cup) macaroni pasta and cook for a further 15-20 minutes.

Serve the soup chunky topped with some grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley. Serves 6-8.