Neve's Butternut Squash and Chilli Soup

Hello all and welcome back! I hope that everyone is coping ok with lockdown 3.0. I know it's very hard having to stay inside all day, and with the January blues and bad weather, it's difficult to find something that brings a smile to our faces. I've started uni again, so busy busy busy! I'm going to try and manage myself better this term so that I have more time for blogging and reading, but lets be honest, what else is there to do?

I'm going to share a new recipe of mine today, butternut squash and chilli soup. I've been making this for a while and is an absolute favourite of mine, I even made it for a starter on Christmas Day. I hope that making and eating it gives you some joy. Remember, the end it is sight, we are so close, keep going! In the meantime, have some soup!

Like with the leek and potato, I used my soup maker to make this soup. I would highly recommend buying one to anyone who loves soup, they are fantastic. If you don't own one though, don't worry, you will need a large pan and a handheld blender.

Ingredients:

Salt

Pepper

1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

Two Vegetable Stock Cubes

400g Butternut Squash

One Red Pepper

Two Cloves of Garlic

4-5cm Red Chilli

1 1/2 Onions

600ml Water

-Serves 4

My Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 200℃ Fan and place the whole butternut squash in the oven for 20 minutes. You can also use packeted and prepared butternut squash, although if you do, you do not need to put it in the oven, just skip to the next step.

2. Add some salt, pepper and the olive oil to your soup maker. Add the two stock cubes, making sure you crush them in your hands.

3. Chop the red pepper, garlic, chilli and onions and add them to the soup maker. Remember that they will be blended so don't worry about the size you chop them to. I usually make sure that the pepper and onion are in 1cm slices, the garlic into about 5 pieces per clove and the chilli sliced into rounds.

4. Take the butternut squash out of the oven and allow to cool slightly so that it is not too hot to touch. Putting the butternut squash in the oven allows it to soften and therefore makes it easier to peel and cut.

5. Once cool enough to handle, chop off both ends of the butternut squash and peel. Cut into reasonably sized chunks, weight out 400g and then place in the soup maker. Do not add any of the seeds. If you have bought prepared butternut squash, all you need to do is measure 400g and add to the soup maker.

6. Add the water and select a smooth setting on the soup maker. At the end you will have blend butternut squash and chilli soup!

7. If you don't have a soup maker, follow the steps exactly, adding all of the ingredients, including the water, to a large pan instead. Bring to the boil then let simmer for 20 minutes. Blend with a handheld blender until smooth.

This is honestly such a lovely soup and I encourage you to try it. Try something new this lockdown, keep yourself occupied and try to stay sane.

Overall:

Easy to Make - The butternut squash is a bit fiddly and will definitely get your hands messy but still very easy to make.

Time Taken - About 3o mins to make including cooking the butternut squash, 21 minutes in the soup maker.

Taste - Warm, spicy and homely!

See my totally unfiltered, candid pictures below and enjoy!