Cooking involves so much more than merely putting ingredients together to create a tasty dish. A lot of the skill lies in the preparation, and this includes getting to grips with your kitchen knives. By finding recipes that allow you to get a lot of use out of your Japanese knives, you will get enough practice to become a pro in no time!
Today, we are going to be looking at an easy soup recipe that’s perfect for winter and involves a good amount of knife use, as well as various cutting techniques; butternut squash soup!
Table of contents
What You'll Need
● ½ teaspoon of salt● Ground black pepper
● 2 tablespoons of olive oil
● 3 cloves of garlic
● Fresh sage
● Fresh rosemary
● Fresh ginger
● One large butternut squash
● One white onion
● 700ml vegetable stock
How to Make Butternut Squash Soup
Before you begin making your soup, you will need to prepare your ingredients and this is where you’ll start improving your knife skills. The different fresh ingredients will require different techniques, so let’s break it down!
● You’ll need to peel, deseed and chop your butternut squash into cubes. The best type of Japanese knife for this is the chef’s knife and you’ll need to make sure it’s really sharp by honing or sharpening it on a whetstone. Cut off both ends of the squash to start and then scoop out the seeds using a spoon. You can then chop the squash into two equal halves and peel it before chopping it into cubes.
● When mincing your herbs, we would recommend choosing either a utility knife or continuing with your chef’s knife.
● When it comes to cutting your ginger, it is possible (and easier) to grate this; you’ll need around one teaspoon for this recipe.
● Garlic is much more finicky to chop finely so a smaller knife like a paring knife may be easier for this task.
Step 1
Start by taking a large pot and heating your olive oil over a medium heat. Once the pot is nice and hot, throw in your onion and season this using salt and pepper. Keep sauteing the onions for around six minutes until they are soft.Step 2
Next, pop the butternut squash cubes into the pot and allow them to cook for up to ten minutes, or until they begin to soften.Step 3
You’ll now need to add your fresh herbs, garlic and ginger and give everything a good stir. Allow a small amount of cooking time to let the flavours infuse before adding your vegetable stock. Now, cover the pot until it is boiling and leave to simmer for around half an hour.Step 4
Once your soup is cooked, allow it to cool for a few minutes. You could leave it at this and have a nice chunky soup or, if you prefer something less rustic and smoother, you can pop it into the blender before serving.
