Dýňová polévka s parmezánovými krutony (JO, Jamie vaří doma, 11.díl)

Sváteční zimní dýňová polévka (JO, Jamieho rodinné Vánoce, 5.díl)

Skvostná dýňová polévka s nejlepšími parmezánovými krutony (JO, web)

• olive oil
• 16 fresh sage leaves
2 red onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, trimmed and chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked
• ½–1 fresh red chilli, to taste, deseeded and finely chopped
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2kg butternut squash, onion squash, or musque de Provence, halved, deseeded and cut into chunks
• 2 litres good-quality chicken or vegetable stock
• extra virgin olive oil

for the croutons
• extra virgin olive oil
16 slices of ciabatta bread
• a block of Parmesan cheese, for grating

This fantastic soup is best made with varieties of squash that have dense, orange flesh, such as butternut or onion squash. It’s important to use good chicken stock and season the soup well to bring out the nutty, sweet flavour of the squash. Once you’ve mastered this recipe, you can take the soup in different ways by adding pearl barley, dried pasta, or some chopped smoked bacon. Even the smallest amount of dried porcini.

PS I made this in my pressure cooker the other day, with really great results – it’s so quick!

Put a very large saucepan on a medium heat and pour in a couple of lugs of olive oil. Add the sage leaves and fry for around 30 seconds or until dark green and crisp. Quickly remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl lined with kitchen paper – you’ll use these for sprinkling over at the end. In the pan you’ll be left with a beautifully flavoured oil, so put it back on the heat and throw in your onion, celery, carrot, garlic, rosemary leaves, chilli and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook gently for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are sweet and soft. Add the squash and the stock to the pan, bring to the boil and simmer for around half an hour.

While the soup is cooking, make your croutons. Drizzle a little olive oil over the ciabatta slices, pat it in and press some grated Parmesan on to each side. Place in a non-stick pan without any oil and fry until golden on both sides.

When the squash is soft and cooked through, whiz the soup with a hand blender or pour it into a liquidizer and pulse until you have a smooth purée (but you can leave it slightly chunky if you like). Most importantly, remember to taste and season it until it’s perfect. Divide the soup between your bowls, placing 2 croutons on top of each. Sprinkle with a few of your crispy sage leaves and drizzle with a swirl of good-quality extra virgin olive oil.

Dýňová polévka (DR, DVDR, 2.série - 6.díl)

600 g máslové dýně, oloupané, odsemeněné a nakrájené na kostky

710 ml zeleninového vývaru

1 brambora, nakrájená na kostky

60 ml másla

120 ml vysokoprocentní smetany

čerstvě nastrouhaný sýr Grana Padano

lanýžový olej

sůl a pepř

Postup přípravy:

do hrnce dejte máslo, dýni, brambory, sůl a pepř a vařte několik minut

přidejte zeleninový vývar a vařte na velkém plameni okolo 5 minut nebo až brambory a dýně změknou

ručním mixérem rozmixujte směs na požadovanou konzistenci a vařte na středním plameni 5 minut

přidejte vysokoprocentní smetanu a vařte další minutu

sundejte z ohně. Dokončete čerstvě nastrouhaným sýrem Grana Padano a kapkou lanýžového oleje. Ihned podávejte.

Pro 4 osoby