Spiced Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup

This is a beautiful soup for the autumn with creamy, sweet squash and wholesome lentils enhanced by warming spices.  It can be made with any squash, including pumpkin and also works well with sweet potato.

This recipe makes a big pan of soup which can be frozen in portions if it isn't all needed.

Ingredients

Approx. 1 kilo (2 medium sized) Butternut Squash, peeled and cubed

1 medium Onion, finely diced

Olive Oil

2 cloves of Garlic

Salt and Black Pepper

100g Red Split Lentils

1 teaspoon Ground Coriander

1 teaspoon All Spice

Half a teaspoon Ground Cumin

2 pints Chicken Stock 

• Pour a generous glug of olive oil into a large saucepan and put on a medium heat.  Add the diced onion, the garlic and all the spices including a good seasoning with salt and black pepper.
• Sizzle the onion with the spices until soft then tip in the squash.  Continue to cook over a medium heat (adding more oil if it starts to stick) for about 10 minutes until the squash is softening and colouring around the edges.
• Tip the lentils into the pan then pour in the chicken stock.  Bring to the boil then cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the lentils aren’t sticking to the bottom.
• After this time the butternut squash should be meltingly soft.  You can now either blend the soup (I find a stick/hand blender useful here) or, if you like a bit more texture, use a potato masher.  Taste and season with more salt and black pepper if needed.
• To serve, a blob of crème fraiche and a handful of croutons finish the soup off perfectly.