Spicy Butternut Squash Soup with Butternut Squash Crisps

SOUP SEASON

We are well and truly into autumn now, with the leaves almost all off the trees and the fact the clocks change this weekend! I know that at this time of year, I crave all those really warming and hearty sorts of food so this is why this week I thought to share with you a gorgeous spicy butternut squash soup!

To make it even better, I love having a few different textures so I have added in my method to make butternut squash crisps out of the peel! Not only does this add an extra dimension to the soup but also it is a great way to avoid food waste and to utilise all parts of your vegetable!

---

Serves: 8. Cooking Time: 50 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

Soup:

• 2 butternut squash

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 4 small onions (diced)

• 3 garlic cloves (finely sliced)

• 2 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp crushed chilli flakes

• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

• 1 and a half liters of vegetable stock

• salt and pepper to taste

Crisps:

• Peel from the 2 butternut squashes

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

• 1/2 tsp ground coriander

Toppings:

• Dollop of yogurt for wash serving (I use coconut yogurt)

• Sunflower seeds

• Pumpkin Seeds

• A dash of chilli flakes

METHOD

1. Pre-Heat the oven to 200C

2. Prepare your butternut squash's by peeling, de-seeding and cutting into approx. 4cm cubes and then toss in a 2 large roasting tines with 2 tbsp olive oil in each.

3. Roast for 30 minutes, turning once cooking until soft and golden.

4. To make your butternut squash crisps, combine your butternut squash peel, olive oil, smoked paprika and coriander in a bowl then spread out on a baking tray and roast in the oven for approx 20 minutes until crispy.

5. While the butternut squash is cooking, place 1 tbsp olive oil into a large saucepan, and once warm add in the onion, garlic, smoked paprika, chilli flakes and cayenne pepper and cook on a low-medium heat for 15 minutes until completely soft.

6. Tip in your roasted butternut squash into the pan and add in your 1.5 litres of hot vegetable stock into the pan and stir all together. Add in salt and pepper to taste at this point.

7. Use a hand blender to combine the soup until smooth, or to make it really silky I use my nutri-bullet and blitz the soup in batches.

8. Top your soup with your butternut squash crisps, a dollop of yogurt, seeds and chilli and enjoy with some crusty bread!

Happy Cooking!

Ruth xxx