Spiced squash and sweet potato soup Beginner by davetcc

When winter time comes around there's nothing quite like a mildly spiced pumpkin or squash soup by the fire. As the weather gets cold the soups keep us warm, but they can be quite high in salt. What I like about spiced soups is that some of the salt can be replaced with herbs and spices.

When it comes to squash and pumpkin, I like to roast then before putting into the soup as it really gives a deeper flavour. I've found the Air-Fryer perfect at this task, if you have one they'll roast perfectly in about 15-20 minutes on a medium setting instead of the oven. If you don't have time to roast them, instead just slice into smaller pieces and fry in the pan along with the onion and carrot.

When it comes to spices like cumin and coriander I prefer ground to whole, as it is far easier to know exactly how much you've put in. However, bay leaves, cardamon pods and cinnamon I tend to use whole as they are still easy to measure. In this recipe make sure you've taken out any whole spices before blending it! When it comes to blending, I tend to use a hand held wand blender but any blender should do just fine.

The spices, even whole ones will combine well in under 30 minutes, I've learnt a lot over the years about cooking times, and for this soup, give it at least 30 minutes on the stove to make sure everything is cooked through, and then blend it and cook for a little longer. You'll still get most of the nutritional benefits as we are keeping all the water they cook in. If you are unused to using spices, air on the cautious side and after blending try it, and add a little more to taste.

For stock, there are many options, you can either make your own stock or use more or less any stock. I use a lot of different stocks from the UKs very well know crumbly stock cubes through to stock pots and even fresh stock.

Ingredients:

Optional extras for serving

• 1/2 tsp chilli powder or fresh jalapeno peppers.
• Fresh coriander and sour cream or yogurt

Method

First, we will roast the sweet potato and squash. Slice the squash into four quarters and take out the seeds. Then peel and quarter the sweet potato too. Coat all the slices in the oil, cover with foil and roast in a pre heated oven (180°C fan, 200°C conventional), for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the squash is soft enough to break up with a spoon. You can also use the Air-Fryer instead just reduce the time to about 15-20 minutes.

While the sweet potato and squash are roasting, peel the onion and garlic, give the carrots a good wash. Generally, I dont really peel carrots as the nutrients are near the surface. Roughly chop the onion, celery and carrots. They are going to be blended, see the photo over to the left. Lastly, squash the garlic and then chop as fine as you can. If you wanted a bit of extra kick, you could add a finely sliced jalapeno pepper.

Heat the pan to a medium heat and add enough oil to fry the vegetables (I normally use about 1 heaped tsp coconut oil but any oil works). Fry until the onions become slightly transparent. This will realistically be a few minutes.

Add about a 1 litre of stock to the pan and mix the contents well, including making sure you get anything off the bottom of the pan. At this point the squash and sweet potato should be out of the oven, break up the sweet potato and add to the pan. Now do the same for the squash (I usually use a spoon to scoop out as much as possible, leaving mainly skin behind). Ensure the veg is covered by the stock, if need be add more liquid to ensure the veg is fully covered.

Stir occasionally and cook for around 30 minutes before blending. During blending if the soup is looking a bit thick, add a little more boiling water to the mix until your preferred consistency is achieved. Don't forget that if you add a lot more water at this point, you may need to add a little more seasoning or stock as well. At this point you can sample the soup and add a little more seasoning to taste if required.

That's it! Serve with some fresh crusty bread and sprinkle some fresh chopped coriander on the top if available.