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I cooked this in a hotel in Portland, Oregon, USA, where the rooms are
actually suites larger than my flat in Cambridge – it's aimed at
long-stay business visitors. Even combining the kitchen equipment provided
in all our rooms, the four of us from Empeg who were over there had a major
undertaking on our hands to actually cook for the about-a-dozen Americans who'd
been working with us on the Jupiter project.
 The original idea was to do
traditional British food; all I could come up with was this, on the rather
tenuous basis that it had become traditional in Britain ever since butternut
squashes started being imported from the USA about two years previously.
It's based on a Jane Grigson recipe, via Antony Worrall Thompson.
Roasted Squash Soup
| 1 big fat | butternut squash, or two small ones
| | 6tbsp | olive oil |
| 1tbsp | coriander (cilantro) seeds, lightly crushed (these can't economically be bought in small quantities, so didn't figure
in the actual Portland meal) |
| | salt and pepper |
| 2 pints | vegetable stock (but see recipe) |
| 3tsp | curry powder (or separate cumin,
turmeric, chilli powder) |
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Peel the butternut squash, cut in half, scoop out the seeds with a spoon
and discard. This can get messy unless your peeler is very sharp.
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Chop the squash into one- or two-inch cubes. Spread the cubes on a
baking tray, drizzle with the olive oil, and sprinkle salt, pepper, and the
coriander seeds over the top.
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Roast in a moderate oven, turning occasionally, until it's starting to
brown at the edges.
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Put the roasted squash in a very big pan and mash with a potato masher – or, if you're in a hotel room, with whatever comes to hand. Add curry powder (about two teaspoonfuls per squash, though curry powders vary widely in strength, so you should experiment with your particular brand. You aren't making a
curry, you're just adding some background flavour).
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Add hot vegetable stock to get the required texture – the soup can
be made very thick for a warming winter meal, or thinner for more delicate
dinner-party use.
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Bring back to the boil and simmer for about ten minutes, checking the
seasoning (but curry powder has to cook a while before the taste really comes
out, so don't go mad).
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Dead simple really. Serves about six (in Portland, I made it with the two
biggest butternut squashes I'd ever seen, and it served fourteen). The
original recipe was more elaborate, with onions, rice etc., but I like the
plainer version as roasted squash tastes so good by itself.
You can probably make it with other squashes, too, or even pumpkin. It's also nice made with parsnips.
 All Rites Reversed -- Copy What You
Like
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