Butternut Soup

Butternut squash soup is one of my absolute favorite soups, and it is very common in restaurants in South Africa. So common that “squash” is often left out and it is just called butternut. It surpasses the flavor of the pumpkin soups of Taiwan I so often ate. This recipe from Rainbow Nation is done the traditional South African way: Butternut Soup Recipe 
I am blenderless at the moment, so when my in-laws came to visit recently I roasted lots of different veggies in olive oil for about an hour, and pureed them with the blender I’d asked my mother-in-law to bring along on her visit. I then froze these to use in soups as I did here with the squash and onion. For the apple, I just used a masher once it was cooked through.  I replaced the nutmeg with cinnamon, and served the soup with lots of pepper, a dollop of plain yogurt, and homemade croutons. To make the croutons, cut bread into squares (I use old crusts I’ve kept in the freezer) and throw them on a cookie sheet with olive oil and herbs. These should be turned often and take about 15 minutes to get just hard. 

Parcels

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5607/salmon-and-leek-parcels

These salmon and leek parcels were easier to make than I expected. They turned out perfectly crisp and tasty. It seems I forgot to buy the fish, so had to make do with breaded fillets from the freezer, so I can’t imagine how good they’d be with salmon or any local white fish. Other changes I made were halving the leeks (only because I didn’t have enough) and then substituting fresh spinach and mushrooms, and doubling the fish and phyllo sheets, making four portions instead of two. I kept the amount of cheese the same though, and the result was something not so rich, as pastries made with phyllo often are. The only problem was separating the phyllo sheets, once thawed. A lot of them tore or couldn’t be separated, but I made do, and they still turned out well. Next time, I think I’ll serve them with a sweet pepper salsa. 

Spring Soup

Leek and Potato Soup Recipe - CookUK
Leeks mean spring to me. So for the eve of the first day of spring in South Africa, we celebrated with this easy soup from Cook UK. Leeks are tender when cooked, but green and hardy like a tulip, and the very thought of them makes me taste butter, garlic and new potatoes. I used baby potatoes here for their earthy flavor and added few fennel seeds. Also good, would be anise, tarragon or fresh dill. You could add a swirl of pesto before serving. We ate ours with veggie quesadillas, but hot rolls would definitely do the trick.