Pumpkin/Butternut Squash Soup

A quick and easy winter warming meal, full of flavour and so much better than a shop bought tin.

Ingredients

1 onion, diced

1 large carrot, chopped

1 stick celery, finely chopped

1 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 small pumpkin or butternut squash, cut into cubes (about 500g of squash once chopped)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 sprig of rosemary

1 large sprig of sage (stalks and leaves chopped separately) or 1 teaspoon of dried sage

1 bay leaf

Level:

Easy

Serves:

4 servings

Prep Time:

Cook Time:

Recipe video tutorial

Preparation

Prepare ingredients up to the stage described in the ingredients list.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan and gently sweat the onion, celery, and carrot slowly until they soften. This will take about 7 minutes.
Add the minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the sprig of rosemary, the bay leaf and the chopped stalks of the sage or dried sage.
Add the pumpkin or butternut squash chunks and fry for a few minutes until they start to caramelise on the edges.
Cover with cold water and turn up the heat. Bring the soup to the boil, then turn down to simmer for 20–30 minutes until the squash is completely tender.
Use a blender to purée the soup until smooth. Add more water if necessary until it has the consistency of double cream.
Taste, then season with salt and pepper, along with the juice of 1/2 lemon.
Finely add the chopped sage leaves (if using fresh) and stir them through the soup.

Hints and Tips

After washing the carrot, keep the skin on rather than peeling it. The skin of fruit and vegetables is higher in fibre, vitamins and minerals than the flesh!

Save time. Batch cook. Portion it and freeze ready for another day.