Spicy Butternut and Ham Soup
I just invented/perfected this, a slight variation on my Butternut & Carrot soup, eating this while watching the snow blizzard seemed the perfect contrast, so I thought I'd share, and it also seemed a good idea to record the recipe someplace before I forget it, 'cos it's bloody lovely!

Either 1 large or 2 medium Butternut Squash/es

1 tin of Baked Beans

2-3 Cloves of Garlic to taste

A level teaspoon each of dried Dill, Basil, Thyme, a teaspoon of salt OR 2 of soy sauce (approx it's all to taste)

A desert spoon of Butter

2 large Carrots

2 medium to large Onions

One small red ripe Scotch Bonnet pepper (or a half if you prefer less heat)

100g of decent Ham (off cuts will be fine but not wafer thin 30% water reformed crap 'cos it'll just disappear)

2 slices of Bacon (optional but the smokiness is nice)

A handful or two of Peas (it adds a bit of 'freshness' in every other mouthful when the pea pops in the mouth)


Stick a large pot on the stove with a couple of cupfuls of water in it and put the ring on full, we start with the Butternut/s, skin, slice, scoop out the seeds and chop up the flesh into quite small chunks, add to the pot, do the same with a quite finely sliced Onion.

Now skin and crush 2-3 Cloves of Garlic preferably using a garlic crusher, chop your Scotch Bonnet in half and put each half flesh-down into your garlic crusher and do the same, throw away the skins and seeds.

Add about a level teaspoon of Dill, Basil and Thyme, add your salt/soy and also a large desert spoon scoop of Butter. Add the tin of Beans.

Stir it all thoroughly. Bring it all to the boil, then down to medium heat and cover for about 30 minutes till the squash has started collapsing into mush! Stir well!

Skin and chop your 2 Carrots fairly small, add those, add the second Onion in the same manner as before, and break up your Ham into small pieces over the pot and drop it in. Let that simmer for 20 minutes stirring now and then so it doesn't stick, meanwhile:

Grill 2 slices of Bacon till crispy and slightly burnt, chop quite finely, add that, and a couple of handfuls of frozen or fresh Peas, give it another 10 - 15 minutes on the stove, then turn it all off and forget about it.

If at any point it gets too thick add more water or some full milk if you like it slightly creamy, it should be about the consistency of a thin custard.

After 10 minutes rest, stir thoroughly, ladle it out, eat with hot buttered crusty bread or toast, very warming, very comforting, very tasty!

This makes about enough to feed 4 - 5 people quite adequately but I can pretty much guarantee the pot will be empty by bedtime even if you live alone 'cos that ladle will keep dipping!
( ..wil, Wed 1 Dec 2010, 18:21, 10 replies, latest was 14 years ago)

My family
may well be having this tomorrow evening
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Thu 2 Dec 2010, 0:11, Reply)

You're on the wrong website
Butternuts are for gayers
(Clerk T Hazarde are all the wine, Thu 2 Dec 2010, 14:05, Reply)

With enough lube, anythings possible!
;)
( ..wil, Thu 2 Dec 2010, 17:31, Reply)

I always buy
the most suggestively shaped butternut squash I can find, just to see the till girl's face.
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 0:37, Reply)

Hahaha!
You sick puppy how could you!

me too...
( ..wil, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 9:14, Reply)

Holy tapdancing christ that sounds hearty.
Is there anything awesome not in that soup? ....Can you even call that a soup? A sick person would be uppercutting through their illness if they got a bit of that concoction!

Sounds totally unparalleled in a soup of any sort. Your bounty of ingredients seems like overkill until you visualize the measurements and amounts and flavors, then it just seems like proper perfection. Think a bit of potato would be good in it?
(LakAttack, Sun 5 Dec 2010, 5:18, Reply)

It's a soup if it's more liquid than chunks and I can move my stirring spatula from one side of the pot to the other un-hindered, if not, it's stew!

Potato can work if added early on I find, but isn't needed, all the early ingredients are purely there to dissolve to make a thick base, all the later ones to be occasional chunks of nommy niceness to provide a bit of extra interest n stop the mouth getting bored, and I don't count potato as nommy niceness, more starchy filler to be added to other nicer things, really...
( ..wil, Wed 12 Jan 2011, 16:47, Reply)

Have just made this
...with a couple of small changes to cater for family likes/dislikes.

After adding the ham and stuff I actually liquidised it a bit THEN added the peas and baconage, as preference is for a smoother soup.

I also added 1/2 a teaspoon of smoked paprika and a squirt of tomato puree, but yes. Om nom nom nyom.
( Undercovercarrot got done for gross misconduct on..., Fri 10 Dec 2010, 12:03, Reply)

I was thinking the same thing although I would liquidise before putting the ham in. And I'd stick some sweetcorn in towards the end.
(mmm....beer, Tue 14 Dec 2010, 20:24, Reply)

Well I personaly think sweetcorn ruins it
TOO sweet n hard, but, this kinda thing is meant to be tasted as you go and adapt!

I find it IS very 'soupy' without need to liquidise simply 'cos the squash collapses after a while and a few good strong stirs make it go all 'smoothinice' with a few more solid bits still about, which is how it should be before you get to the carrots n ham stage, but my personal taste with soup is a few chunks here n there to give the mouth something to nom so it doesn't seem like a starter or a drink, plus I don't like a soup OR stew to be all one continuous taste, it should vary a bit on each mouthful, but I appreciate not everyone likes that!

One thing I have learnt since posting this is that adding the herbs seems to work better later in the mix than earlier, so you might like to try that!
( ..wil, Wed 12 Jan 2011, 16:38, Reply)