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You are here: Home / Recipes / Gluten-free / Paul’s famous butternut soup

Paul’s famous butternut soup

by Jeanne Horak on August 15, 2004 25 Comments in Gluten-free, Soup, South African, Vegetarian

Roasted butternut soup

It had to happen sooner or later – eventually everyone that knows me has to hear about, or come across, Paul. Paul is one of my cleverest, funniest, most talented (and thin and gorgeous ;-)) and generally fabulous friends from back home. He is the Will to my Grace (and let’s not delve into the conceivable double entendres in that statement) and I have known him forever and a day. Paul is an airline pilot and has traveled all over the world. He is a self-taught computer programmer. He is an accomplished photographer. He taught me how to solve cryptic crosswords. And he knows Elton John (ask him about it :P).

Despite all his fabulousness, I never had Paul down as a cook of note. If we went out, we’d eat in a restaurant. If we stayed in, there would be the obligatory trip to the McDonalds drive-thru for some kind of plastic food and of course a supersize Diet Coke. We once spent 10 days in America together and I swear that all he ate was hamburgers, fries, chicken wings and a bratwurst roll.

But sometime around mid-1996, Paul discovered cooking in a big way. If there was a dinner party at his house we would lay the table on the patio, light the candles and he would cook. From scratch!! Using actual raw ingredients!! It was a revelation. OK, so the repertoire started off being rather limited – butternut soup for a starter and spaghetti bolognaise to follow. In fact, Paul’s butternut soup is so good that even after his repertiore expanded considerably, people still request it – I know I do – and it is known throughout our circle of friends as “Paul’s famous butternut soup”. One night in 1998, Paul even hosted The Great Butternut Challenge when he and a friend each brought along three guests, each made a pot of butternut soup to their own recipes and then allowed everyone to taste and vote. Needless to say, he won… From these humble butternut beginnings sprang great things – Paul’s famous soup evenings, for example. He’d make at least three types of soup (French onion; potato and cheese; pea and bacon etc etc) and everyone tastes a bit of everything and wipes their bowls with crusty bread. Or Paul’s fabulous barbecued fillet steak with pepper sauce. Or my personal favourite of the moment, black mushrooms baked with garlic and cheese and topped with caramelized onions, served with homemade croutons. Oh my word.

Anyway, when I think of a quintessential Paul dish, I still think of the butternut soup. In fact, when I think of the quintessential Paul dinner party, I recall that the soup was on the table when the fun started.

Paul had just moved into his new house and needed a new dining room table. So on Wednesday afternoon he and I went shopping and found the perfect table. As he was paying for it, he casually asked the salesman “So delivery will be possible this afternoon, then?” The salesman blanched and stuttered and explained how the delivery service was very busy and it was very unlikely. So in his charming way, Paul explained that he was having a dinner party THAT NIGHT and the table was an absolute necessity. If he could not have the table THAT NIGHT, he was cancelling the purchase. So the salesman hemmed and hawed and made a few calls and assured Paul that delivery would be that night. So Paul happily went shopping for ingredients and I went home to shower and change.

I got back to Paul’s by about 5pm – no sign of the table. By 6 there was STILL no sign and the store was closed so Paul could not even call and vent at them. By 7, the guests had arrived so we resigned ourselves to the old plastic patio table and carried it inside and laid it. At about 7:15, the butternut soup was plated and heading for the table when suddenly… the buzzer to Paul’s apartment complex’s security gate rang. Yup, you guessed it – the delivery men had arrived. Okeydokey. So I started moving food off the table and Paul pressed the button to open the gate. A minute passed. Two. Three. No sign of a delivery.

This was all rather odd, since the gate is only about 100m from his front door. Then the buzzer rang again. This time the man said the gate had not opened, so Paul pressed the button again. More waiting. No delivery. Then the buzzer rang for the third time and Paul was told that the gate was broken. His first reaction was to curse the complex management for installing a cheap mechanism, and his second reaction was to grab the keys to unlock and open the gate manually and stomp off to open up for them. More time passed. Guests getting restless. No table. Eventually I took a walk outside to see what was keeping them – oh, what a scene greeted my eyes!!

The furniture delivery van had clearly been otherwise engaged. But in an attempt to keep Paul happy, the salesman had called in some obscure favour from the supermarket in the same shopping complex and they had agreed to do the delivery in one of their (huge) trucks. The gate to Paul’s complex was clearly not designed for huge grocery trucks, but the bright spark driving the truck had somehow not noticed the discrepancy in size between his truck and the gate, so as the gate opened, he had forged ahead. Unfortunately for him, the width of the truck exceeded the width of the gate by a good foot. So by the time I arrived on the scene there was the gate, one of its pillars and a large section of the complex wall (the section containing the letter boxes…), all lying in a mangled heap in the driveway. The truck had come to a halt shortly after impact and the driver was standing some way away, shaking his head. And the collected residents of the complex were clustered around the truck in various stages of hysteria. Pure street theatre!! All they needed were pitchforks and it would have been a scene from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

The police were duly called and the driver tested for alcohol (negative), and my last memory before returning to the dinner party was the driver, answering the police questions while leaning against a squat brick pillar by the side of the driveway. From the pillar emanated a hundred disembodied voices all going “hello? hello? HELLO?!” in various stages of agitation. The pillar that the driver was leaning against housed the bank of intercom buttons used to operate the gate intercom system in each unit in the complex – and he was calling them all. I had to leave before I collapsed in hysterical laughter. After police investigations were complete, the delivery guys carried the table into Paul’s place, he reheated the soup, I relaid the table and we all had dinner as if it was all a very very peculiar dream. And I can confirm that the soup was damn good.

Clearly, butternut soup also occupies a special place in Paul’s memory – when he decided to post his first comment on this blog recently, he added the recipe! I have often had butternut soup made with a twist of sweetness (like orange) but I think the secret to Paul’s lies in the curry powder he adds to it – see what you think. Here follows the recipe in his own words – to get an account of the surreal dinner party in his own words, you’ll have to ask him!

Other bloggers making soup include:

  • Margot’s Polish sour cucumber soup
  • Jamie’s broccoli soup with crabmeat and blue cheese croutons
  • Michelle’s creamy asparagus soup
  • Simone’s celeriac soup with crunchy bacon bits

s

PAUL’S FAMOUS BUTTERNUT SOUP (serves 6 as a starter)

“OK, to make my famous butternut soup, you need:

1 fresh butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups of chicken stock
125 ml single cream
1 tsp curry powder (as hot as you like)
A squirt of Worcestershire sauce
Salt and black pepper

1. Toss the chopped onion and garlic in a pot and sauté, don’t burn or caramelise. They must be translucent but still white.
2. Add the peeled butternut and chicken stock and bring to the boil.
3. When the butternut is soft, mash (as in MASH, don’t liquidise or pulverise!).
4. Add the other ingredients and stir.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. And eat.

If it doesn’t work out, get Cooksister to come fix it. Beware of adding too much salt. It’s the cream that makes all the difference.

Have a nice day…”

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  1. Bron says

    August 15, 2004 at 10:57 pm

    I was there. And it all happened as the sage has described. I think the soup tasted even the sweeter because of the appetite that the evenings amusements had worked up. And other evenings where the soup has been served have not dissapointed. So if you are feeling brave and ready for anything then serve this fateful soup at your next dinner party.

    Reply
  2. Ronni says

    August 16, 2004 at 12:41 pm

    “He is the Will to my Grace.” There are few lines so filled with such potent possibilities. Wonderful.

    Reply
  3. Jeanne says

    August 16, 2004 at 2:14 pm

    Bron – aaaah, good times, good times. Glad you are here to confirm that I didn’t just dream this episode!
    Ronni – thanks for the compliment. High praise coming from you! The line is like Paul’s culinary imagination (and his parties!), both of which are filled with potent possibilities.

    Reply
  4. Joolez says

    August 17, 2004 at 10:51 pm

    what a delightful “episode”. I loved every word of it! I think I might be dreaming of it actually. 😉

    Reply
  5. anthony says

    August 18, 2004 at 4:58 am

    I’ll use dinner parties as an excuse to get the odd new toy but a whole table. *That* is dedication.

    Reply
  6. Seattle Bon Vivant says

    August 22, 2004 at 7:57 pm

    This soup sounds divine and a must make. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  7. Jeanne says

    August 22, 2004 at 9:45 pm

    Joolez – oh my word, my blog is being incorporated into your dreams!! The night of the party certainly felt like some weird dream, so maybe that’s entrely appropriate!
    Anthony – I believe the phrase is go huge or go home… We don’t do things by halves! 😉
    SBV – thanks for stopping by! The soup is dead easy and such a great winter standby – enjoy.

    Reply
  8. Ann says

    June 4, 2007 at 9:37 am

    Wow what wonderful recipe.The best butternut soup ever!

    Reply
  9. Jacques says

    November 24, 2007 at 4:33 pm

    Thx, this is oooohhhhhhh so nice soup

    Reply
  10. Paul says

    November 25, 2007 at 2:19 am

    Goodness gracious me! Again, I solicit a response – thanks to those comliments on the soup.
    As for the dinner parties, it was always the company that I shared that left these self-etching events indelibly scribed in my mind. How I miss you tarts! My new house will be complete in December, so dinner parties 2008 will have to be the order of the day! And you all invited. (Provided you bring a mystery guest)
    However, enough banter, just to mention my latest discovery, Harissa oil, turns this soup into a sensory overdriving orgasm! Just pour a teaspoon over before serving. Should go just as well with the Harira.
    Regards

    Reply
  11. Leo says

    July 22, 2008 at 4:14 pm

    Hi. For how many people would this recipe cater?
    And hallo from South Africa.
    Holding thumbs. Going to try this recipe. Thanks for the interesting background and setting. Enjoyed it 😀

    Reply
  12. Leo says

    July 24, 2008 at 6:13 am

    So yesterday was the day that I had to brave to cook my first butternut soup.
    This recipe was absolutely amazing and decadent. Well tonight I have been asked to prepare more butternut soup for my mom and family.
    Thank you for all the help 🙂
    Blessings
    Leo

    Reply
  13. angeli says

    August 20, 2008 at 5:02 pm

    This is an awesome recipe!!! Every time I cook butternut soup, I search for this recipe on the internet again!!! Thanx!

    Reply
  14. Tanya says

    December 22, 2008 at 10:04 am

    Hey – does this freeze well?

    Reply
  15. Jeanne Horak says

    December 22, 2008 at 11:52 am

    Hi Tanya – it freezes beautifully! Truly the soup that keeps on giving 🙂

    Reply
  16. Jeanne Horak says

    December 22, 2008 at 11:52 am

    Hi Tanya – it freezes beautifully! Truly the soup that keeps on giving 🙂

    Reply
  17. Jeanne Horak says

    December 22, 2008 at 11:52 am

    Hi Tanya – it freezes beautifully! Truly the soup that keeps on giving 🙂

    Reply
  18. Dorcas says

    April 10, 2009 at 11:23 am

    I use online recipes all the time and I am not one for commenting after I use them. But Paul’s butternut soup was a heat in my home. My husband said to me that it was not just soup, but “Bliss in a bowl” I am making it again this weekend for Easter Dinner. Being a Zimbabwean living in Canada I am proud of your blog and I visit it very often for some heart warming recipes. Keep up the good work

    Reply
  19. Hannah says

    October 16, 2009 at 5:52 pm

    hi i was wondering what sort of cream is best? ive used soured cream before but was going to try double cream if that’s what this recipe calls for??? thanks alot hannah in the uk x

    Reply
  20. Jeanne says

    October 16, 2009 at 11:24 pm

    Hi Dorcas – so glad that the soup went down so well! It’s a favourite in our home too and I hope it gives you & your hubby many more deliciosu dinners!
    Hi Hannah – the original recipe was made with single cream, but double cream would also work – it would just make the soup a little richer 🙂

    Reply
  21. Diana says

    May 22, 2010 at 2:21 am

    I was actually looking for a lentil recipe and ran across this website and Paul’s famous butternut squash soup. Since I had some in the fridge from Trader Joes, the already cut up and peeled variety, I decided to make it. It was fabulous! Quick, tasty, filling. I used creme fraiche, gave it a rich flavor. Will definitely make again! I have bookmarked this web page for future reference. Thanks!

    Reply
  22. Dirk says

    March 7, 2011 at 9:02 am

    Hi
    I made a Thai variation of this and it was delicious!
    http://kosserasies.blogspot.com/2011/03/taai-butternut-sop.html
    Thanks!
    Dirk

    Reply
  23. Bernice says

    June 1, 2011 at 7:41 pm

    This is the best butternut soup recipe ever!I am making it for my sisters kitchen tea. Thank-you for sharing this wonderful recipe – it’s simply delicious and will be used in generations to come!

    Reply
  24. Pat Hullett says

    June 6, 2011 at 12:25 pm

    Thank you for a super Butternut soup. I must admit that I have never made my own soup its been too convenient to buy in a shop. You have converted me so easy and so yummy.
    Thanks
    Pat

    Reply
  25. michelle says

    May 18, 2012 at 10:32 am

    It,s devine and my husband came back for more. A defenite for a cold night. Even my 9 month old baby cleaned his bowl. Thank you for sharing your incredible recipe.

    Reply
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Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

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Blood orange & pistachio galettes
Cauliflower topped steak with melted cheese
Plate of potted smoked salmon with slaw and a glass of champagne
bowls of pistachio pomegranate bircher muesli
Brussels sprouts with chorizo & hazelnuts

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