Butternut Squash Soup

I absolutely love soup this time of the year, its quick, easy, versatile and jam packed full of goodness which usually means its easy on the hips and this recipe for me is one of my favourites.   Growing up for me soup was usually cream of tomato out of a tin usually accompanied by buttered crusty bread piled high so when I had to cut yeast and sugar from my diet trying to find any shop bought soup without sugar was impossible and I was shocked at how most soaps contained yeast!  So I realised pretty quick I was going to have to make it myself.  If you, like me, are used to eating your soup with bread cutting it out at first can feel a bit like ordering a pizza and it comes without the cheese on top, like its ok but you feel like somethings missing or you’ve only had half a meal.  The secret is you don’t want your soup to watery and the more flavour you put in to the soup the more you start to forget about the bread and trust me this recipe is packed full of flavour!

What you need..

• 1 Whole Butternut Squash (de-seeded and cut in half)
• 1 x Large Cooking Apple
• 2 x Carrotts
• 5 x Cloves of Garlic
• 1 x Large Chopped Red Onion
• 1 x Sweet Potato
• 1 x tbsp Honey
• 1 x tsp nutmeg
• 2 x tsp turmeric
• Handful chopped parsley
• 2 pints of vegetable stock
• salt, pepper and a pinch of crushed chilli flakes to taste

Serves: 6        Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 Minutes on gas mark 180 and 15 minutes to simmer

How its done…

• First things first you want to wash and prepare your carrots, sweet potatoes , butternut squash, apple and garlic.  Lay out all your veg on to a baking tray as below.  Lightly season and drizzle with olive oil.  Pop in oven at around 180 for 40 minutes.  You want it so that all your veg is soft in the middle and lightly golden on the outside.
• Once your veg is done you want to take a large pot and place it on the hob, drizzle a little olive oil and add in to the pan the chopped red onion and lightly saute on a medium heat.  Then add all your roasted veg in to the pot. (I usually keep the skin on because once blended you don’t notice it but this is up to you, if you would like to remove the skin I would do it at this stage as will be easier to remove once cooked.)
• Mix in your vegetable stock and chopped parsley, turn the heat down slightly and leave to simmer for around 15 minutes occasionally stirring.
• Once done you want to blend making sure there is no lumps.  At this stage I add the honey which just takes the edge off the sharpness from the apple, nutmeg, turmeric, salt and pepper and a small pinch of chilli flakes.  Make sure to constantly taste the soup as you are adding in the spices, everyone is different, I personally like a little kick which is why I added the pinch of chilli but you may like it just as it is.
• To serve you can add a pinch of chopped parsley or coriander for extra flavour and a sprinkling of toasted linseeds for added crunch or if you really want to make your soup something special I would recommend whisking some double cream in to stiff peaks (you can similarly use coconut milk or shop bought vegan cream if you don’t eat diary) and stir in some crushed walnuts or hazelnuts and add a spoonful on top of your soup allowing it to slowly melt in.