This is such an easy soup to make and perfect for autumn and winter. Thick, warming and full of flavour, this Roasted Squash and Smoked Aubergine Soup will be a regular feature at your dinner table.
If you enjoy the recipes here, please show your support for this blog by clicking on the ads to help keep the free content coming!
I used the red onion squash for this recipe, but you can just as easily swap it for any other autumn or winter squash, including butternut squash, which is available all year round. The squash, the onion and the garlic are all roasted first, which intensifies the overall flavour of the soup. The aubergine is cooked, for the first part, directly over the gas flame, until the outside is charred and the flesh is soft. This gives it a delicious smoky flavour ( I use the same cooking method for Baba Ghanoush). I then allow the aubergine to finish off in the oven with the rest of the vegetables to make sure it is cooked all the way through.
After that it’s just a matter of throwing the soup together in a large saucepan. It’s completely vegan and gluten-free, so just about everybody can enjoy it.
ORDER YOUR COPY OF MY COOKBOOK
GOING VEGAN FROM AMAZON
AVAILABLE IN BOTH PAPERBACK AND KINDLE FORMAT
Roasted Squash and Smoked Aubergine Soup
Ingredients
Gluten-free.
- 900 g-1kg autumn squash deseeded and cut into wedges, bust skin left on (I used red onion squash)
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- A good pinch of salt
- 1 large red onion quartered but not peeled
- 4 large cloves garlic root cut off but otherwise left whole
- 1 aubergine left whole
- A little more olive oil
- 1 ½ litres of veg stock
- Salt and pepper to taste
- A little vegan cream to finish
Instructions
- Heat the oven to gas 5/190C/375F.
- In a large mixing bowl, coat the squash in the olive oil and sprinkle over the cinnamon, paprika and salt. Toss in the bowl, until completely covered and then tip out onto a roasting tray. Roast in the middle of the oven for 40 minutes. Keep the bowl with the excess oil and spices to coat the other veg.
- Once the time is up toss the red onion and garlic in the oiled bowl and add to the roasting tray. Continue cooking for another 40 minutes or so.
- With 30 minutes roasting time remaining, turn your gas burner (if you have one) onto a low-medium flame and, using a pair of metal tongues, cook the aubergine over the open flame. Turn the aubergine every few seconds and DO NOT leave it unattended. After a short while, the skin will begin to blister and the flesh will soften. It takes about 10 minutes to cook the aubergine in this way. Once it is done, transfer it to the oven to finish off for the remaining 20 minutes.
- If you do not have a gas burner, or don’t like the idea of cooking it this way, just cut the aubergine into quarters lengthways, oil and roast it at the same time as the onion and garlic. You won’t however, get the smoky flavour this way.
- Once your roasted vegetables are cooked, take them out of the oven and set aside to cool al little.
- Heat the extra olive oil in a large saucepan. Now peel the roasted onion, give it a rough chop and toss it in the pan. Cook for 3-5 minutes.
- Squeeze the roasted garlic out from the cloves in with the onions and cook for another minute or so, stirring constantly. Remove the skin from the squash and aubergine and put that in the pan with he rest. Now pour in the veg stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 40 minutes, stirring from time to time to prevent sticking.
- Once the time is up and the soup has reduced a little fully blend, either with an emersion blender, or in batches with a jug blender (make sure you allow steam to escape if using a jug blender). Season with salt and pepper to taste and then pour in a little vegan cream.
- Serve with your favourite bread.
WANT TO LEARN TO COOK AMAZING VEGAN FOOD?
SIGN UP TO MY MEMBERSHIP SITE RICHARD CHURCH’S VEGAN COOK SCHOOL
AND GET UNLIMITED ACCESS TO ONLINE VEGAN COOKING CLASSES
Check out my latest recipes
Rhubarb and Blueberry Jam
This is a great recipe if you have some leftover rhubarb in your garden, in addition to some fresh blueberries, available now in most supermarkets if you don’t grow them. It’s the kind of thing you can throw together late one evening, as it only requires the occasional stir. You can then leave it to…
Caramelised Red Onion Dip
This is the perfect time of year to be experimenting with cold and light food. Easy items that you can store in the fridge and eat over a few days as the mood takes you. Dips are great for outdoor eating. You can put a selection of homemade dips on the table on any occasion,…
Roasted Asparagus, Basil and Walnut Pesto Served with Baby Potatoes and Broad Beans
You can get asparagus imported all year round in most supermarkets, but British asparagus has its growth season between May and July, with early appearance often at the end of April. Now is the perfect time to make use to these green spears in your everyday cooking. My choice for this recipe was to roast…
Asparagus, Mushroom and Leek Pastries
April 23rd marks the start of asparagus season and we are now starting to see British asparagus appear on the shelves. Young asparagus is a thin and tender vegetable that is perfect for cooking a variety of dishes. It cooks quickly, so you must keep an eye on it. The more mature plant is thicker…
Vegan Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
What is it about a plate of plump vegan meatballs in a rich tomato sauce, nestled comfortably on a soft pillow of spaghetti that is so satisfying even before a single mouthful is taken? It is a dish where even the sight and smell of it has its own umami. It creates thrilling anticipation from…
Vegan Enchiladas
To veganise something like Enchiladas now is incredibly easy with the variety of ingredients available in most supermarkets. For this one I have used fresh vegan mince, along with mushrooms and onions for the chilli base. Don’t worry if you don’t like eating vegan mince, you can always substitute this chilli for my Sweet Potato,…
Spanish Lentils with Vegan Chorizo and Black Pudding
I first tried this dish about 25 years ago, when my Spanish girlfriend made it for me in a bedsit we shared in North London back in the mid-nineties. It was cooked on one of those old Baby Belling stoves that you would often see in bedsits back in those days (they might still have…
Vegan Fudge Cookies
We’ve been enjoying packets of vegan fudge in our house for quite a while now and a recent conversation with my wife got me thinking about how great it would be to have the fudge in a cookie, just like it was chocolate chip. This recipe is the product of that discussion: a very simple…
20
20
20
20