Butternut squash soup with chilli

Butternut squash soup with chilli is a thick and hearty vegetarian soup with a beautiful golden colour. Similar to carrot and cardamon soup it is quick and simple to make and can be stored in the fridge for up to a week. The quantities in this soup recipe are sufficient for approximately 4 servings.

Ingredients

• About 4 slices butternut squash (250g approx)
• 2 medium sized sweet potatoes
• 2 to 3 carrots
• 1 red onion finely chopped, or, 1 leek
• Dash of olive oil
• Vegetable stock
• 100g red lentils
• 5 to 8 small dried chillis
• Chilli powder (optional)

How to prepare

Peel and dice the butternut squash, sweet potato and carrots. Slice the leek (or finely chop the onion).

Soften the onion/leek, butternut squash, sweet potatoes and carrots in a little olive oil. Add the vegetable stock, lentils, and chillis and season. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 45 minutes or so until the lentils and vegetables are cooked and then remove from the heat. If you have an Aga, this can be cooked in the simmering oven for around one and a half to two hours before blending.

Remove the chillis and blend (either fully blend if you would like a smooth soup or partially blend to retain some texture). Check for flavour and add a small amount of chilli powder if you would like more heat.

Tips

1. The thickness of the soup can easily be varied by increasing or decreasing the amount of vegetable stock. Alternatively, extra water can be added towards the end of the cooking time to make a thinner soup.
2. The quantities of ingredients can easily be adjusted to make different quantities of soup.
3. As the soup will keep in the fridge for up to a week it is worth making extra. The soup tends to thicken slightly when in the fridge so you may need to add a little extra water before reheating.

Other vegetarian soup recipes