NOW, as many of you may know, I’m helping to promote the amazing Saltfest 2024 festival in Droitwich with the organiser Simon Berry, Tristan Harris and the Droitwich Standard newspaper.
Part of this event sees a competition – open to all restaurant owners, pubs, food outlets, hotels and chefs across the Midlands – It will involve creating a dish using the famous ‘Droitwich Salt’.
The best dishes chosen, will be included in the upcoming cookbook ‘Winslows Worcestershire Recipes’ which will be published by Paul’s own publisher ‘Businessrise Design and Publishing’ in Miami, Florida, USA and published worldwide, therefore creating much publicity for the local hospitality and tourism industry.
I will also be creating a ‘Thanksgiving Salt’ that will be manufactured.
Now this recipe includes the ‘Thanksgiving Salt’ I’m creating, but if you wish to know the secret ingredients contact me by visiting the Saltfest 2024 Facebook page – click ‘interested’ or ‘going’, then in the discussion section type in ‘#Thanksgivingsalt’ and I will private message you with the ingredients.
As I can’t enter myself, here is just a quick recipe using my “Thanksgiving Salt” recipe.
Visit facebook.com/recipesfrommytravels for more on Paul’s blog and recipes.
Intense flavoured butternut squash soup with pumpkin seeds
Ingredients
Large butternut squash, peeled and roughly chopped.
2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 large white onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves peeled and crushed with the back of the knife.
100ml of double cream
1litre of fresh vegetable stock (don’t use stock cubes as this can be salty)
1litre of cold water to par boil the vegetables.
1tbsp of Thanksgiving seasoning (available soon)
Pumpkin seeds for garnish
Lemon zest for garnish
Garnish with a sprinkle of fresh oregano if you wish
Serve with some warm focaccia.
Method
1. In a large heated saucepan or pot add a touch of olive oil.
2. Add in the chopped vegetables and stir for a minute or two, add in the fresh water and boil rapidly for about 10 minutes.
3. Using a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables to a baking tray (keep the water boiling but keep checking on it, this should reduce it down to half its quantity). 4.
4. Now give the vegetables a quick splash of olive oil, a scattering of your ‘Thanksgiving Seasoning’ and roast in a preheated oven at 180c for about half-an-hour or until they are tender.
5. In the pot with your boiling water, carefully add your fresh vegetable stock (now the soup will have benefited from the flavours of the quick fried and par boiled vegetables and your fresh vegetable stock). Bring back to the simmer.
6. Then carefully remove the vegetables from the oven and add them to the stock. Take off the heat and leave to cool right down.
7. Once cooled, in batches blend the soup to a smooth consistency and add to another large saucepan or pan.
8. Once this is done, add the cream gradually, taste for seasoning and leave it gently to simmer away until you are ready to serve.
9. Serve in warm bowls with a scattering of pumpkin seeds, fresh oregano, lemon zest and maybe some grilled focaccia.
