Homegrown Squash Soup with Chorizo.

I had a plan for our squash harvest: grow enough for us to make a squash soup every week through the winter.

We ended up with about 50.

My boys absolutely loved growing them, and I was so excited to see all the different shapes and colours as we brought them in. The plants had a rough year, though.  Powdery mildew took over and their growing time was cut short by 5 weeks. I tried managing it with organic treatments, but in the end I left it alone and gathered what we could. Powdery mildew is the name for the white, spreading fungal patches that can take hold on leaves. [1]

Since then, the squashes have been doing a second job as autumn decorations around the house. They look lovely lined up together. The only part I hadn’t quite planned was where we were going to store 50 of them once autumn decorations had done their time.

We best get to eating them all then!

This pumpkin soup with chorizo is warming, simple and easy to adapt to whichever pumpkin or winter squash you have to hand. The broth gives it a savoury base, while the squash softens into a smooth, comforting soup. Crisp nitrate-free chorizo on top adds a smoky, gently spiced finish.

Squash soup with chorizo recipe

Serves: 4–6

Preparation: 15 minutes

Cooking: About 30 minutes

Ingredients

1.2 kg pumpkin or winter squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks

150 g nitrate-free natural chorizo, diced

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

750 ml chicken or vegetable broth, with a little extra if needed

1 tablespoon butter, ghee or olive oil

Black pepper, to taste

A little cream or crème fraîche, optional

Chopped parsley or toasted pumpkin seeds, optional, to serve

Method

• Warm the butter, ghee or olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the chorizo and cook gently for a few minutes, until it releases some of its oils and begins to crisp. Lift it out with a slotted spoon and set it aside, leaving the flavoured oil in the pan.
• Add the onion and cook over a gentle heat until soft. Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute.
• Add the pumpkin or squash and pour in the broth. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for around 20–25 minutes, until the squash is completely tender.
• Blend until smooth. Add a little more broth if you prefer a thinner soup, then season with black pepper. Taste before adding salt, as broth and chorizo can already bring plenty.
• Ladle into bowls and finish with the crispy chorizo. Add cream, parsley or pumpkin seeds if you fancy them.

The squash you choose will change the flavour slightly. A sweet, dense squash makes a naturally velvety soup, while a larger pumpkin can be milder and a little more watery. Start with less broth if you’re unsure, then loosen the soup after blending.

A broth-based squash soup variation

For a broth-led version, use chicken broth and keep the seasoning simple. Let the onion, garlic and squash simmer directly in the broth, then blend everything together. The result is a full, savoury soup that doesn’t need much else.

For a vegetarian version, use vegetable broth and leave out the chorizo. A spoonful of crème fraîche, a swirl of olive oil or toasted pumpkin seeds gives the bowls a finishing touch. If you want the smoky note without the meat, add a little smoked paprika with the garlic.

Which pumpkins and squashes work well in soup?

Most mature winter squashes can be used in this recipe. Butternut, Crown Prince, kabocha and many pumpkins all work well, though each brings a slightly different sweetness, colour and texture. The firmer-fleshed varieties tend to give you a thicker, smoother soup; if yours is softer or more watery, just use a little less broth at first.

You can also roast the squash before adding it to the pan. Roasting gives it a deeper, sweeter flavour and is especially useful if you already have the oven on. Let the cooked squash cool enough to handle, then add it to the softened onion and garlic with broth and blend.

How to store a homegrown squash harvest

Winter squashes can keep for months, but how well they store depends on the type, ripeness and condition of each fruit. The Royal Horticultural Society recommends storing mature pumpkins and winter squashes in a well-ventilated place, spaced so they don’t touch, and checking them regularly for any signs of rot. Its guidance gives a storage range of 10–15°C. [2]

If your squash is mature and the skin has hardened, it may be suitable for storage. The RHS suggests curing harvested fruit in sunlight for about a week to ten days, protecting it from frost and wet weather, before moving it somewhere cool and ventilated. How long it keeps varies by cultivar and storage conditions. [2][3]

With 50 squashes, I suspect we’ll be eating plenty before we need to find out exactly how long each one lasts.

A harvest we’ll remember

Growing enough squash for the whole winter was an ambitious plan, especially in a year when the plants didn’t have an easy run. But watching my boys enjoy growing them, then seeing all those different varieties gathered together, has made the harvest feel like more than a pile of ingredients.

Now they’re making the house look autumnal, and soon they’ll be making soup. That feels like a lovely way for them to earn their space.

References

[1 Royal Horticultural Society, Powdery mildews: symptoms and control

[2 Royal Horticultural Society, Pumpkins and winter squashes: storing

[3 Royal Horticultural Society, How to grow squashes