What is autumn without squash recipes, my friends? Nothing, I say! I’m totally for seasonal fruits and veggies, as not only that they are then at their cheapest, but they’re also at their tastiest. So let’s take full advance of the fall abundance and do some hearty cooking.

INGREDIENTS:

(Yields 4 servings / 0.99 EUR per serving / 3.96 EUR for all)

½ of butternut squash (0.53 EUR)

2 tbsp sunflower seed oil (0.03 EUR)

1 large onion (0.10 EUR)

2 garlic cloves (0.07 EUR)

2 large carrots (0.40 EUR)

6 cherry tomatoes (0.80 EUR)

1 tsp garlic powder (0.07 EUR)

1 tsp ground coriander (0.07 EUR)

1 tsp smoked paprika (0.07 EUR)

1 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika (0.07 EUR)

½ tsp salt (0.01 EUR)

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper (0.07 EUR)

½ tsp dried red pepper flakes (0.03 EUR)

1 bay leaf (0.03 EUR)

1 cup dried split yellow peas (0.67 EUR)

2 tbsp dried parsley (0.27 EUR)

4 cups vegetable broth (0.27 EUR)

6 sundried tomatoes (0.40 EUR)

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Prepare the squash by giving it a good wash. Split it in half, then scoop and discard the seeds. Place on prepared baking tray with skin side down and roast for one hour, until softened and nicely caramelized. Allow the squash to cool slightly before scooping the flesh out of the skin and giving it a brief mash with a fork. I decided to roast the whole squash immediately and then froze the remaining half of the squash puree for future use. If you’d like a thicker soup, you can also dump all of the squash puree in it, or simply do as I did.

While your squash is roasting, wash, peel and finely dice all of the veggies. Soak the sundried tomatoes in a bit of warm water. Pick through the peas and rinse them in a colander, then set aside. Place a large pot with oil on high heat and sauté the onion for a few minutes until slightly translucent. Add in fresh garlic, carrots and cherry tomatoes and cook for a few minutes until slightly caramelized. Stir in garlic powder, coriander, smoked and Hungarian paprika, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and bay leaf and cook for just a minute so the spices become fragrant. Throw in the peas, parsley and veggie broth. Finely dice the sundried tomatoes and add them into the soup together with their soaking liquid. Stir everything until fully incorporated.

Bring the soup to a rolling boil, then reduce heat and simmer on low for about one hour, until the peas are softened and cooked through. Finally, stir in the roasted squash puree, taste and adjust seasoning, then serve.

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Dragi prijatelji, što je jesen bez recepata sa tikvom? Ništa, baš ništa! Veliki sam zagovornik sezonskih recepata i načina kuhanja, jer tada ne samo da su voće i povrće najjeftiniji, već su ujedno i najukusniji. Stoga treba u punoj mjeri iskoristiti jesensko izobilje i baciti se na kuhanje.

SASTOJCI:

(Za 4 porcije / 7,35 kn po porciji / 29,41 kn za sve)

½ butternut tikve (4,00 kn)

2 žlice suncokretovog ulja (0,20 kn)

1 veliki luk (0,75 kn)

2 češnja češnjaka (0,50 kn)

2 velike mrkve (3,00 kn)

6 cherry rajčica (6,00 kn)

1 žličica češnjaka u prahu (0,50 kn)

1 žličica korijandera u prahu (0,50 kn)

1 žličica dimljene paprike (0,50 kn)

1 žlica slatke paprike (0,50 kn)

½ žličice soli (0,01 kn)

1 žličica svježe mljevenog crnog papra (0,50 kn)

½ žličica sušenog čilija u listićima (0,25 kn)

1 lovorov list (0,20 kn)

1 šalica sušenog žutog graška (5,00 kn)

2 žlice sušenog peršina (2,00 kn)

4 šalice povrtnog temeljca (2,00 kn)

6 sušenih rajčica (3,00 kn)

PRIPREMA:

Zagrijte pećnicu na 200°C i obložite protvan papirom za pečenje. Pripremite tikvu tako da ju dobro operete i raspolovite. Žlicom očistite i bacite sve sjemenke. Stavite tikvu na pripremljeni protvan, sa kožom okrenutom prema dolje i pecite sat vremena da omekša i karamelizira se. Pustite tikvu da se malo ohladi prije nego meso odvojite od kože i malo ga izgnječite vilicom. Ja sam odlučila odmah ispeći cijelu tikvu, pa polovicu pirea smrznuti za kasnije. Ako želite gušću juhu, možete u nju ubaciti pire od cijele tikve, ili pak učinite kako sam i ja.

Dok se tikva peče, operite, ogulite i fino nasjeckajte svo povrće. Sušene rajčice namočite u malo tople vode. Proberite grašak i isperite ga u cjediljci pod tekućom vodom, pa stavite na stranu. Stavite veliki lonac na jaku vatru, pa na ulju par minuta dinstajte luk, sve dok ne postane staklast. Dodajte svježi češnjak, mrkve i cherry rajčice, te kuhajte koju minutu da se sve blago karamelizira. Umiješajte češnjak u prahu, korijander, dimljenu i slatku papriku, sol, papar, sušeni čili i lovor i kuhajte minutu, samo da začini zamiriše, prije nego dodate grašak, peršin i temeljac. Fino nasjeckajte sušene rajčice, pa i njih ubacite skupa sa tekućinom u kojoj su se namakale. Dobro sve promiješajte.

Pustite da juha zavrije, smanjite vatru i krčkajte oko jedan sat, dok grašak ne omekša i ne bude sasvim kuhan. Na kraju umiješajte pire od pečene tikve, kušajte i prilagodite začine, pa poslužite.