In case I have never told you before - I love meals that require only one pot or pan. Partly because for the entirety of my adult life I have not lived in a place with a dishwasher and I really don't like washing up. More importantly, though, I love all those dishes that allow flavours to build and mix and develop. Soups and stews and casseroles - take some simple things, give them some time and you end up with some amazing flavours and leftovers for the next couple of days :)
This soup is one of those amazing dishes - it's incredibly easy, it tastes like home and the last glorious autumn days even when it's already snowing outside, and while each of its ingredients is nice by itself, it is so much more than just the sum of its parts.
Buttermilk with Carrot and Butternut Squash Soup
200g Carrots (I used a variety of carrots that pretty much breaks apart when you cook it and that becomes super creamy, normal carrots will not be as creamy but will taste nice as well)
200g Butternut Squash
1/2 Apple
1 small Onion
Olive Oil
Beef Stock (trust me, the beef works wonders here!)
A small glass of white wine if you have some sitting around
Buttermilk (lots and lots and lots - I used 100ml for my bowl)
Salt, Pepper, Crushed Chilli Flakes
Peel and dice the carrots, butternut squash, onion and apple (eat the remaining 1/2 apple while you cook). I don't believe it makes a difference what size you go for other than that if you cut tiny pieces things are going to cook faster.
Heat some olive oil in a pot and sauté the onions until they become glassy, add the carrots, butternut squash and apple. Stir around for a bit, then add the wine and enough beef stock to cover everything.
Cook until the carrots are tender. If you get bored - do you have any more wine left? Remember the other half of that apple from earlier? They should go really well together :)
Once the carrots are tender, puree using an immersion blender.
Season until you are happy.
Put some soup in a bowl and then drown it in buttermilk (don't forget to stir because the buttermilk will sink). If I'm perfectly honest with you I tend to use more buttermilk than soup but then I do love soup with my buttermilk or yoghurt. If you're not convinced - the soup is lovely on its own but you should really try it with some (or lots) of buttermilk!
Oh, and bread obviously works really well with this :)
