Roasted sweet potato, butternut squash and red pepper soup

A perfect hearty, healthy, winter soup recipe…
Serves 4

You’ll need:

Drizzle of oil
1 large onion
1/2 butternut squash
1 medium sweet potato (approx 300g)
1 red pepper
Sprinkle of chilli flakes
Vegetable stock cube
A splash of milk
Salt and pepper to season
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds (optional)

I use a soup maker, but a large pan does just the same job – you’ll just have to transfer to a blender after it’s cooked and cooled down a bit.

What to do:

Pre-heat  the oven to 180⁰

Peel the squash and sweet potato, remove any seeds and chop into rough chunks

Put on a baking tray with the roughly chopped, deseeded pepper

Add the chopped onion

Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle sparingly with chilli flakes and salt and pepper. If you want to, you can add about a quarter of a teaspoon of cumin seeds too

Roasted red pepper, butternust squash and sweet potato soup

Roast in the oven for about half an hour, or until the squash is soft but the peppers and onions aren’t burning – leave to cool slightly before handling

Transfer the tray of vegetables to the soup maker, sprinkle in a vegetable stock cube and add enough water to make 1400ml

Bring to the boil, simmer for 15 minutes, then blend until smooth

Add a splash of milk to the final stage of blending

Roasted butternut squash and red pepper soup

Another quick and easy soup recipe – delish!
Serves 4

You’ll need:

Knob of butter
1 large onion
1 butternut squash
1 red pepper
2 cloves of garlic
Sprinkle of chilli flakes
Vegetable stock cube
A generous dollop of creme fraiche
Salt and pepper to season

I use a soup maker, but a large pan does just the same job – you’ll just have to transfer to a blender after it’s cooked and cooled down a bit.

What to do:

Pre-heat  the oven to 180⁰

Cut the butternut squash and red pepper in half, remove the seeds and place on a baking tray

Drizzle with a little olive oil, peel and crush the garlic cloves, and pop one in each halves of the squash, and sprinkle sparingly with chilli flakes

Roast in the oven for about half an hour, or until the squash is soft but the peppers aren’t burning – leave to cool slightly before handling

Put the knob of butter in the soup maker on ‘Low’, add the onion and red peppers, stir and leave to sweat for a minute.

Scoop out the butternut squash flesh, and add to the soup

Add enough stock to make 1400 ml.

Simmer for half an hour, then blend until smooth

Season with a little salt and pepper, and stir in the creme fraiche just before serving.

Enjoy!

Roasted butternut squash and red pepper soup

Carrot and lentil soup

Another concoction using fridge leftovers – scrummy!

You’ll need:

Knob of butter
1/2 large onion
1 washed, chopped leeks
4 peeled, chopped carrots (medium size)
4 dessert spoons of dried red lentils (about 75g)
Vegetable stock cube
Salt and pepper to season

I use a soup maker, but a large pan does just the same job – you’ll just have to transfer to a blender after it’s cooked and cooled down a bit.

What to do:

Put the knob of butter in the soup maker on ‘Low’, add the onion and leek, stir and leave to sweat for a minute.

Add the carrots and lentils, and add enough stock to make 1400 ml.

Simmer for half an hour, then blend until smooth

Season with a little salt and pepper just before serving.

Optional extras

Give a bit of a chilli kick by adding half a chopped red chilli pepper at the same time as the onion and leek

Stir in a little cream or creme fraiche just before serving

Bon appetit!

Carrot and lentil soup

Leek and potato soup

I’ve never made this before, so thought I’d give it a go. Just had a taste, and it was blooming delish – so definitely worth a blog…

You’ll need:

Knob of butter
3 washed, chopped leeks
2 medium-sized peeled and cubed potatoes
a vegetable stock cube
a good glug of cream
Black pepper and salt to taste

I use a soup maker, but a large pan does just the same job – you’ll just have to transfer to a blender after it’s cooked.

What to do:

Put the knob of butter in the soup maker on ‘High’, add the leeks, stir and leave to sweat for a minute.

Add the potatoes, and add enough stock to make 1400 ml.

Simmer for half an hour, then blend until smooth.

Stir in a dollop of cream, and season with some freshly ground black pepper and salt.

Enjoy!

Leek and potato soup

75% off

You could not make this up. Only a couple of days ago I wrote about our local hardware store having a half price sale on their seeds. Obviously it was an offer not to be refused, so in I trotted and filled my boots basket.

Well… I went into town at the weekend, and they are now at 75% off. Yes, 75% off! The force of the seed sale practically sucked me in off the street, and there I was again, buying a load of stuff that I a) probably already have and b) possibly do not need. But no matter… I’ve saved a massive £21 sqidaroonies!

They will be giving them away next week…

In brief, I have peppers (salad and chilli), spring onions, peas, beans, cucumbers, carrots (2 sorts), basil, radish (to go with the four packets I already have), rocket and some random flowers.

I swear by next week they will be giving them out free at the door…