Please help me rescue my soup!

[PoppingBubbles]

I've just made a soup in the soup maker and it's horribly bland.
I put a frozen pack of butternut squash cubes in, along with red onion, garlic, turmeric powder, chilli flakes and veg stock.
It's very watery, and doesn't taste of much at all I've added a bit of curry powder, and no difference.

I don't want to just throw it away, not if it can be saved.

Have you got sweet potatoes? Roast them with cumin then blend them in - it'll thicken it and give it more flavour. If you don't, leave it on the hob to boil to make it less watery, then add corriander if you've got it. Also, try adding salt (health blah blah).

Add a couple of sweet potatoes and a sprinkling of grated nutmeg.

Plenty of salt and black pepper.

Salt.

I would wack some curry powder in, plus season generously. Perhaps reduce it down on the hob if it's too watery.

Yes to salt and pepper, and seeet potatoes ideally. We tend to throw all sorts of orange veg into our butternut squash soup, so carrots, peppers?

Reduce it down a bit if it's too watery. Add another stock cube.

Lots of black pepper.

I do have sweet potatoes. Just roast them in the oven, with oil and cumin? Add nutmeg or herbs, then season? And that will save my soup?

I really hope so, it's currently so bland it's not very edible

I would reduce it down to thicken it up and add some more stock cubes and season carefully..sometimes soup tastes better the next day too.

I find this happens when I buy pre prepared veg. No idea why!!!

Next time roast the butternut squash and red onion before you make it. You need to drive out the moisture from frozen veg before using or it’s just grim.

For current soup, pop it on the stove and reduce it down to concentrate the flavours. When it’s almost too thick you can thin it out with stock. Then season it bloody well!

Don't be afraid of putting a decent amount of salt (and pepper) in. It will still be less salty than most ready made food.

If it's watery, give it a good boil, stirring so it doesn't burn, to reduce the volume, if you don't want to add more stuff to a soup that might not work.

I know this is heresy but you didn't mention oil It's important for the fat soluble flavours in the likes of onion, garlic and spices, especially tumeric and chilli to bind with. It then acts as a coat around the complex carb molecules in the veggies.

A smidge of vinegar and sugar can help to lift it too. I generally put a squirt of ketchup ir siratcha in as it's a mix of tomato, sugar and vinegar or chilli, sugar and vinegar in non cream-of/chowder soups

Yes, I thought it might be something to do with the frozen squash.

I've just popped some carrots and sweet potato in the oven with garlic oil, and spices /seasoning.
Will blend in when roasted and hopefully that will help.

Point noted for the future, about roasting any veg first.

Chop up another couple of onions, fry them till transparent, careful not to burn them, add to your soup with two or three finely chopped cloves of garlic, add another stock cube too.
The trouble is that butternut squash is quite a bland vegetable to start with.

You saved my soup - thank you all so much!

Once the veg had roasted, I tipped it all back into the soup maker, and let go the full way through again.

I've seasoned it, and it's actually really delicious. It's a bit spicier than what I'd hoped, as I wanted to give some to DD (shes off school ill today) However, DH can have some when he gets home from work, as he's ill too.

I'm so pleased

Late to the party but smokey bacon and parmesan really help butternut and/or sweet potato soup along. Obv not veggie though.

If it’s too spicy add some yoghurt, cream or milk to the portion.

Throw on some red lentils to thicken it up. Or a can5if chickpeas, then blend.

Can of

Added some yogurt to DD's portion, and she's now happily tucking into it, so thanks for that @PeridotCricket

Also I love the idea of Parmesan and bacon. I have some chorizo, I wonder if that would work fried off and added as a little topping with the Parmesan?
I didn't try it on DD's as she is veggie, however I bet DH and DS's would love it.

If you don't have time to roast the stuff next time my go-to is to cut half a squash into cubes, peel and cut up a supermarket bag of sweet potatoes and peel and chop a red onion or two. Fry onion until it's soft, add cumin, chili flakes, salt and pepper and fry for a minute then add all the veg and fry for a couple of minutes. Chuck in stock+water to cover and boil the buggery out of it until the potatoes disintegrate. Comes out thick as sludge but tastes great and is very forgiving if you mess around the proportions, but less so if you don't fry the onions and spices first.

Butternut is gross when it's been frozen, if use fresh next time