We often make this soup when we're feeling in need of some vegetables and something homey and homemade. It's such a simple soup to make but one of our favourite on flavour and colour. The mixture of lots of vegetables at the base taste delicious but don't worry - if you don't have all of them you can easily just add more onion, carrot or celery - whatever you have at home. The roasted butternut squash creates a creamy texture but you could also try using squash, pumpkin or sweet potato.
Serves 2 & takes 35 minutes to cook
Ingredients
300g butternut squash, peeled and diced
1 onion, peeled and diced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
2 carrots, cut into small pieces
2 sticks of celery, cut into small pieces
2 teaspoons of paprika
1-2 vegetable stock cubes, mixed with 1L boiling water
Pinch of salt
Olive oil
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190C, fan setting.
2. Place the diced butternut squash into a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil and a good pinch of salt. Mix well and cook for 30 minutes, until the butternut squash turns soft.
3. While the butternut squash cooks, place a deep pan over a medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Once warm, add the chopped onion, garlic, carrot, celery and a pinch of salt. Mix really well and cook for 10 minutes, or until the celery and carrots become soft.
4. At this point, add the paprika and mix well. Cook for another minute or so before adding the cooked butternut squash and vegetable stock.
5. Bring to the simmer and cook until the butternut squash breaks down and becomes very soft.
6. Blend everything together using a hand blender or soup maker until really smooth.
7. Pour back into the pan and heat over a medium heat once ready to serve, adding a dash of almond milk or water until you reach the consistently you like best.
