0 Recipe: Butternut Squash, Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

This week I decided to make my most favourite of soups... well, I say most favourite - it changes every time depending on what's in the fridge, but the basics are always the same and it must always have carrots and butternut squash in it!

I think it started life as a Delia recipe many years ago when her How To books were first out, and canned chestnuts were all the rage and readily available in supermarkets. Then the supermarkets started hiding them away, or all you could find was chestnut spread. That's when the adaptions started... and now I just freestyle it!

This is what I used this week to make a huge stockpotful... giving me 12 very generous servings, 7 of which are now sitting in the freezer waiting for those lazy days when you just can't be bothered... 

Butternut Squash, Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup - Heaven in a bowl!

 

Butternut Squash, Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

Prep time: 30 minutes

Serves: 12

You will need:

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1 Onion, peeled and roughly chopped

4 Carrots, large, peeled and roughly chopped

3 Sweet Potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

1 Butternut Squash, peeled, de-seeded and roughly chopped

2 tsp Dried Thyme

Boiling Water

1 Chicken or Vegetable Stock Cube

Salt and Pepper to taste

You could garnish this soup in any number of ways... chopped chestnuts, crispy fried bacon lardons, but this time I went with a dollop of cream cheese and a grating of fresh nutmeg.

Directions:

Begin by heating the oil over a low heat in a large stockpot and letting the onions soften slowly while you prepare the rest of the vegetables. Then throw in each of the vegetables to give them a bit of a soften as they are prepared. I usually do carrots, then sweet potatoes and leave the squash until last as I will scare myself silly by nearly chopping my fingers off trying to peel the thing!

Once all of the vegetables are in the pot sprinkle over the thyme and season with salt and pepper (if you are using), and allow to soften for a further five minutes.

Next pour over enough boiling water (about 2 litres I think!) to come to about an inch above the vegetables, crumble over a chicken or vegetable stock cube and give it a good stir before covering and simmering over a low heat until all of the vegetables are soft.

Use a hand blender to blend to a beautifully smooth and even velvety texture and then serve with your choice of garnish and enjoy!

Jasper absolutely loves this soup and will regularly polish off 2 cupfuls in one sitting!

I am entering this recipe in the Christmas Carrot Competition over on lovethegarden.com. If you've got a carrot recipe that you're particularly proud of why not head over and enter yourself?