Sunday, October 8, 2017

Super Seasonal Soups

Anyone else delighted that the evenings are drawing in and the air is cooler? I love autumn. The colours, smell of wood smoke and crisp air. It's also the season for beautiful squashes, pumpkins and curly kale. For me, soup is the ultimate homemade comfort food. Great with warm, crispy bread and hearty enough on their own. Here are a few of my favourite seasonal soup recipes:

Roasted Butternut Squash and Fennel Soup

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
1 fennel bulb
1 onion
1 litre vegan stock
3 cloves garlic
4 sprigs thyme
1 red or birdseye chilli
1 thumb piece ginger
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 block creamed coconut
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Wash the squash, de-seed and chop into chunks. Put it in a baking dish with coconut or olive oil (not virgin!) and season. Roast in oven for about 1/2hr. The skin will soften and is edible. Don't worry!
Meanwhile, chop the fennel, onion and garlic and sweat in a pan with some oil over a low heat and with the lid on. Shake the pan every few minutes so nothing sticks on the bottom and burns. Do this for about 7mins. Add the chilli and flakes, ginger, stock, roasted squash, and coconut and let it simmer over a low heat for about 20mins. You may need to add more water. Blitz and over a low heat, season and add the lime juice. Serve with a dollop of coconut yogurt and a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds. Enjoy!

Note: I'll add more soups this week and include photos. Also, let me know if you'd like recipes for veg you're not sure how to cook or what it goes well with.