PORTOBELLO MARKET APPLE FEST PREPARATIONS!!!! THE MAKINGS OF TEN GALLONS OF HARVEST SOUP

One day till the Festival and we began the big preparations. What does that mean? It means dozens of squash to roast, onions and apples to sweat down, seeds to season and roast, vegetable stock to simmer...and generally speaking playing with lots of wonderfully local and seasonal English produce.

If you are in London tomorrow or Saturday, stop on by the Portobello Market and get some free samples of the luscious fruits of our labours...apple crumble ( tomorrows blog recipe), Harvest Squash soup (recipe below), baked apples (yesterdays blog), and of course lots and lots of award winning apples to sample....

HARVEST SQUASH AND APPLE SOUP

Serves 6

WHAT YOU NEED

1 butternut squash, halved and seeded

1 acorn squash, halved and seeded

50g honey (maple syrup or brown sugar can substitute)

1 large onion, peeled and finely diced

1 shallot, peeled and finely diced

1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped

2 English eating apples, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped

200ml white wine (or substitute apple juice or apple cider)

1 Litre vegetable stock

1 T English rapeseed oil (or other vegetable oil)

Cinnamon and Salt

WHAT TO DO

1. Heat Oven to 190 C/375 F.
2. Place squash in a roasting pan cut side up.
3. Pour 250ml water in bottom of pan. Pour honey and salt in cut side of squash.
4. Cover pan with aluminum foil or lid and roast till cooked (roughly 1 hour)
5. At same time, sweat onion, shallot, garlic and apple in oil till translucent.
6. Add white wine to onion pan and cook till almost evaporated
7. Peel cooked squash and put the flesh in with the onion mixture.
8. Add enough vegetable stock to cover the squash
9. Simmer for 30 minutes
10. Puree soup till absolutely smooth
11. Finish with cinnamon and salt. Add a splash of lemon juice if necessary.

MORE DISHES TO WASH

· Try making your own stock by cooking down clean trimmings from vegetables and fruits for an hour in a large pot of water...strain and use the liquid for soups and sauces!!!

· Try using different types of squash and pumpkins for this recipe

· Lemon juice and other acidic ingredients can often help balance the flavour of a soup or sauce!!!