Pumpkin & Butternut Squash Soup with Hand-Torn Parmesan Croutons

Sweet pumpkin, butternut squash, carrots and shallots, finished with sage and a little cream. The SmokePot takes care of the soup while hand-torn Parmesan croutons turn golden in the paella pan. Proper autumn comfort food, cooked over charcoal.

By KAMA GEAR

Prep
10 min
Cook
30 min
Serves
6
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Pumpkin and butternut squash soup with hand-torn Parmesan croutons, cooked with the KAMA GEAR SmokePot and paella pan in an open barn kitchen.
Soup in the SmokePot. Hand-torn Parmesan croutons in the paella pan.

OVER THE FIRE / THE RECIPE

Pumpkin & Butternut Squash Soup with Hand-Torn Parmesan Croutons

Prep
10 min
Cook
30 min
Rest / prove
0 min
Makes / serves
6
Difficulty
Easy
Method
Direct and indirect heat
Temperature
180–200°C dome temperature

Approx. 10 minutes prep + 30 minutes cooking. Allow extra time to light and stabilise the kamado.

Ingredients

For the soup

  • 500 g pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cut into 1–2 cm pieces (prepared weight)
  • 500 g butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 1–2 cm pieces (prepared weight)
  • 2 medium carrots (about 200 g), peeled and thinly sliced
  • 4 shallots (about 100 g), peeled and finely chopped
  • 6 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1.2 litres hot vegetable stock, plus a little extra to adjust the consistency
  • 75 ml cream, to finish
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the hand-torn Parmesan croutons

  • 250 g day-old crusty bread, torn by hand into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 40 g Parmesan, finely grated
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Set up the grill. Light your kamado outdoors and stabilise at around 180–200°C dome temperature. Set up a direct cooking area and an indirect area with a heat deflector below the cooking grid. The direct side is for softening the shallots and crisping the croutons; the indirect side gives the soup a gentler simmer. Lighting and stabilising the grill are extra to the recipe timings.
  2. Prep the vegetables. Peel and chop the pumpkin and butternut squash into small, even 1–2 cm pieces. Thinly slice the carrots, finely chop the shallots and sage, and tear the bread into rough bite-sized chunks. The uneven edges are what make the croutons so good.
  3. Start the soup. Put the SmokePot on the cooking grid over moderate direct heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil. Soften the shallots for about 4 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the pumpkin, squash, carrots and sage, then stir for another 1–2 minutes.
  4. Let it simmer. Pour in the hot vegetable stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Move the SmokePot to the indirect side, fit its lid and close the kamado. Cook for around 18–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables crush easily with a spoon. If they need longer, give them longer; tenderness matters more than the clock.
  5. Make the croutons while the soup cooks. Towards the end of the simmer, warm the paella pan over moderate direct heat. Toss the torn bread with 2 tbsp olive oil, spread it in a single layer and cook for 6–8 minutes, turning regularly, until golden and crisp. Add the grated Parmesan and black pepper for the final minute, tossing so the cheese clings to the rough edges. Take the pan off the heat before the cheese catches.
  6. Blend and finish. Wearing heat-resistant gloves, move the SmokePot to a stable, heatproof surface and let the bubbling settle. Blend carefully with a stick blender until smooth. Stir in the cream, season with salt and pepper, and add a splash more stock if you prefer a looser soup.
  7. Serve it hot. Ladle into six bowls and add the Parmesan croutons just before eating so they keep their crunch. Put any extra croutons on the table for everyone to help themselves.

Cook’s notes

Keep the vegetables small and evenly cut to stay close to the 30-minute cooking time. This is an approximate guide; the size of the pieces and the heat under the pot will affect the cook.

Tear the bread rather than cutting neat cubes. Those rough edges catch the oil and Parmesan, giving you more crisp, golden bits. Cook in batches if the bread would crowd the pan.

The SmokePot's steady heat suits a gentle simmer. The paella pan's broad cooking surface spreads the bread out so it crisps rather than steams.

Add the cream after blending and keep the finished soup below a hard boil. Add the croutons at the table, not while the soup is waiting to be served.

THE SETUP

Cook it with Kama Gear.

Explore the grill, fuel and accessories selected for this cook. Check the right size for your grill on each product page.

Kama Gear SmokePot 5.7L Dutch Oven

Kama Gear SmokePot 5.7L Dutch Oven

£87.20

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Kama Gear 34cm Carbon Steel Multi-Purpose Paella Pan

Kama Gear 34cm Carbon Steel Multi-Purpose Paella Pan

£27.92

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A cold day calls for a proper bowl of soup. Pumpkin, squash and carrots bring the sweetness; shallots and sage give it a savoury edge. A little cream finishes it off, and the croutons bring the crunch.

One grill. Soup and crunch.

We used the KAMA GEAR SmokePot 5.7L Dutch Oven for the soup and the 34cm Carbon Steel Paella Pan for the croutons. The pot holds a steady simmer while the pan gives the hand-torn bread room to crisp. Keep both working together and serve everything hot.

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