I’m not a huge fan of truffle oil but own a small bottle that gets occasional outings. On a whim, I used it to decorate this creamy, golden soup and its bosky taste and smell worked wonders with subtle sweet squash perked into life with a squeeze of lemon and splash of Tabasco.
Serves 4
Prep: 30 min
Cook: 45 min
450g butternut squash
2 medium-small onions
4 garlic cloves
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
Tabasco
Squeeze lemon
small bottle truffle oil
Heat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7. Cut the squash in double kebab-size chunks without bothering to remove the skin but do remove strings and seeds. Place in a mixing bowl, add 1 tbsp olive oil and toss with your hands so all the pieces are evenly but lightly smeared with oil. Spread out on a foil-lined, shallow roasting tin and season lightly with salt and pepper. Halve the unpeeled onions and place, cut-side down, on the outside edge, adding unpeeled garlic in the middle of the tin. Roast for 30-40 minutes until the squash and onions are soft, use tongs to remove the garlic after 20 minutes (if its soft). Liquidize, onion and garlic skin discarded, with hot stock. Pass through a sieve into a clean pan, reheat and adjust the seasoning with salt, Tabasco and lemon. Serve with a criss-cross of truffle oil.