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Jamie Oliver’s Butternut and Chorizo Soup

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Jamie Oliver's Butternut Squash Soup

I am reading Jamie Oliver’s book Jamie’s Ministry of Food which is apparently the same book as Jamie’s Food Revolution. I truly admire Jamie’s dedication to inspire people to make their own food. He really believes in eating real food and not getting complicated about it. I like him and his food approach so much, yet I had never tackled any of his recipes. I was scared his simple approach to food would let my picky foodie palette down and I just like him so much I did not want that to happen. I braved possible disappointment yesterday and took on his Sweet Potato and Chorizo Soup. I did not have sweet potatoes so he suggested using butternut squash which I had on hand and gave it a shot.

Jamie Oliver's Butternut Squash Soup

Jamie’s approach is so basic I immediately questioned it. That giant pile of chopped veggies and chorizo sausage were supposed to be dumped into a hot pot with some hot oil altogether. I have never done that before. Normally you start out sautéing the onions, add the garlic and then the mirepoix (aromatics like carrots, onions, leeks…). You don’t just dump it all in there! Good grief. OK, I can do this. I am a rebel right? I dumped everything in the pot and added some curry powder and let it sit with the lid askew for 10 minutes. My carrots were not softened at this time so I had to let it cook for five minutes longer. I did have to turn my heat down from the recommended “hot” to medium high because my veggies came close to burning, thankfully I caught it in time.

Jamie Oliver's Butternut Squash Soup

Then you add some chicken broth which sounds simple, right? The only problem is the recipe called for 1.8 litres of broth and I had absolutely zero idea how many cups that was. I tried to look up the measurement conversion chart in my Joy of Cooking but it just told me how many quarts it was and I was just as lost. I ended up adding the broth until it just covered the veggies. Apparently 1.8 litres is 10 cups. There is no way I added that much broth but it worked out fine.
 
The part of this recipe I was most dubious about was putting the chorizo in at the beginning and then mixing with a hand blender at the end with the rest of the vegetables. Really?! That just seems so weird, to blend meat like that. I got out my hand dandy immersion blender and it took a while to get a nice consistency, it still seemed a little chunky no matter how much I attacked the soup. I prefer the smooth texture you get from using a food mill but sadly I do not have one.

Jamie Oliver's Butternut Squash Soup

 
The soup was lovely! Stunning in fact. I was shocked at how well the flavours worked together and the texture did not bother me at all. He suggests topping it with chopped chilies but I found there was enough heat from the chorizo sausage to add that additional kick I was looking for. The curry powder melded everything together beautifully and wow, when you eat this soup not only do you feel healthy you feel satiated. It is delicious and hardy! The perfect soup for our future autumn evenings.
 
When it comes to Jamie’s book, I have to say it is visually gorgeous. There are lots of illustrations and you can even recognize that it is Jamie doing the cooking and not some hand model filling in for him. You can also recognized his voice and friendly disposition we all like so much within each recipe. His recipes are not complicated, the approach is simple and the book is lovely to gaze through. I can not wait to tackle more of his food this weekend!
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Comments

  2. aliceinparis says

    That is so cool! We have that book and H decided she was going to learn how to cook and work her way through the book! We are going to have a separate blog for it. So far she’s made the pot roast meatloaf(fantastic) We only used 6 rashers of bacon. The pork vindaloo (fantastic) The broccoli and potato tagliatelli( it was ok)and a salad with the french dressing which was fab. I LOVE Jamie . We are huge fans. Unfortunately we don’t get the food network:(
    I am looking forward to trying his soups, they all sound so good.

    Reply

  3. Tori says

    I am craving soup. Wicked bad. I’ve never had butternut squash, and I have never even seen chorizo, but I want soup! It looks very good and filling. 🙂

    Reply

  4. Tammy says

    Oh this sounds so yummy!! Mike isn’t a fan of butternut squash, but he does like sweet potatoes. I think this is a must try!

    I don’t have an immersion blender. Would transferring it to a regular blender a cup at a time work?

    Reply

  7. luckiest1 says

    Hi Suzie, good for you for sticking with the recipe! I am attempting to cook my way through a couple of Jamie’s books and at times I am tempted to change things up, as well. But generally his recipes turn out really well, and I’m happy I didn’t. Your soup looks lovely. I’ll have to try that one soon.

    Lisa

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  8. Dianne says

    I love Jamie Oliver but have never tried any of his recipes either. This looks awesome. And I am so addicted to your blog they might as well send me home from work today!

    Reply

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