Ingredients

• 1 kg butternut squashone that feels heavy for its size
• 1 onionsliced
• 1 whole garlic bulbtop trimmed
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 750 ml vegetable stock
• 100 ml double cream
• 30 g butter
• 10 sage leaves
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 4 thick sourdough slices
• 140 g Gruyerea block, grated fresh; pre-grated will not melt as smoothly
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp fine salt, plus black pepper and a grating of nutmeg

Method

1. 01

   Roast the vegetables

   Heat the oven to 210 C / 190 C fan. Toss the cubed squash and sliced onion with the olive oil and season well. Spread on a large tray in a single layer, nestle in the whole garlic bulb with its top trimmed off, and roast for 30-35 minutes, turning once, until the squash edges are dark and caramelised and the garlic is soft enough to squeeze. Caramelisation here is the entire flavour of the soup. Pale squash makes a flat soup.

   1 kg butternut squash · 2 tbsp olive oil

   Roast it genuinely darkPale steamed squash gives a sweet, hollow soup that no amount of cream fixes.

2. 02

   Simmer and blend

   Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins into a large saucepan and add the roasted squash, onion and the stock. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and give it 5 minutes for the flavours to come together, then blend until completely smooth. A full 60 seconds in a jug blender, longer than you think, is what gives it the velvet texture.

   750 ml vegetable stock

   Blend longer than feels necessarySixty seconds at full speed is what turns grainy into velvety.

3. 03

   Enrich and season

   Stir in the cream, maple syrup and a tiny grating of nutmeg. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper, and loosen with a splash more stock if it is thicker than you want. It should coat a spoon but still pour.

   100 ml double cream · 1 tsp maple syrup

4. 04

   Brown the sage butter

   Melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat and swirl for 3-5 minutes until the milk solids turn hazelnut brown and it smells nutty. Add the sage leaves for 30-45 seconds until crisp, then lift them out onto kitchen paper.

   30 g butter · 10 sage leaves

5. 05

   Make the Gruyere toasts

   Spread the sourdough slices thinly with the 1 tsp Dijon, cover with the grated Gruyere right to the edges and grill 10 cm from the element for 2-3 minutes until molten and blistered in spots.

   4 thick sourdough slices · 140 g Gruyere

6. 06

   Serve

   Swirl half the sage butter through the soup, ladle into warm bowls, and finish each with the rest of the butter and the crisp sage leaves. Serve the toasts alongside for dipping.