Squash and Fava Bean Soup

Autumn Fava Fava Beans Grains and Seeds Hearty Pulses Soups Split Fava Beans Squash

by Carol Kearns September 26, 2016

As the temperature drops and the squash harvest comes in, this squash - or pumpkin - and split fava bean soup is a comforting and seasonal delight. The simple but excellent recipe was developed by Carol Kearns, who not only creates the lovely illustrations for our packaging but also publishes recipes on her blog The Art of Baking.

This soup is wonderfully comforting at this time of year: it has a lovely velvet texture, a brilliant colour and roasting the squash brings out a real intensity of flavour. Indeed, don’t be tempted to add any herbs or spices to the recipe because, simple as this soup is, it’s just packed with flavour.

As the soup only requires half a standard-sized squash I either double the quantities in the recipe so I have some for the freezer or, alternatively, I use the other half in a warming spicy bean stew recipe - made with Hodmedod’s pulses of course. Look out for that recipe shortly…

Makes 4 generous servings

Ingredients

About 500-600g Squash or Pumpkin (I like to use butternut, coquina or onion squash)
2 tbsp Rapeseed Oil
1 medium Onion, chopped
1 litre Vegetable Stock (Marigold vegetable bouillon works well)
100g Split Dried Fava Beans
25g grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.
Wash the squash and cut in half. Remove the seeds and trim the outside (there is no need to peel it). Cut into 3cm chunks and put in a bowl with 1 tbsp of the oil. Turn the squash so that it is well coated in the oil and place on a baking tray. Roast in the oven for about 20-25 minutes until soft and starting to brown at the edges.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large pan and sauté the onions for 5-10 minutes until soft and starting to brown at the edges.
Add the vegetable stock and split dried fava beans, bring up to the boil and then turn the heat down and cover with a lid. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
Add the roasted squash and continue to simmer, covered, for a further 10 minutes or until the split dried fava beans are soft.
Leave to cool slightly and then process with a blender to a smooth consistency. Gently re-heat, stirring in the grated cheese and thinning with water if the soup is too thick. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

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