Creamy Squash or Pumpkin Soup

I love soup, its a meal in itself and on bitterly cold days like today it warms the cockles of your soul.  Proper comfort food, and the colour is so cheery.  However, soup is very filling and cheap to make.  Its also a good way of making use of leftover bits and bobs in the fridge.  My Nan used to do lovely soup based on mixtures of this sort, and it makes cheap economical eating.  Getting fed up of eating one particular type of soup, eat what you can and then freeze the rest for another day then you really are maximising your ingredients and time and you can always rustle something up in a hurry when you are on the run

You can use pumpkin and/or squash for this recipe and can be served with Soda bread  (see separa,te recipe) which will soak up the yumminess of this soup.  If its a little thick for your taste add some more stock to thin it down until you are happy with its consistency.  Some people don't like thin watery soups, other's don't like them thick.  How you serve it is down to your own personal preference and it does not cost the earth to make.  It should serve about four people - too much for you why don't you freeze some down until another day that way you are getting the maximum amount of return for your money and time investment.  The Recipe comes from the Eat In Magazine October 2010 edition.

Ingredients

 2 tablespoons of olive oil
700g butternut squash peeled deseeded and cut into chunks
150g potatoes peeled and chopped
2 carrots peeled and chopped
2 shallots (or 1 small onion if you don't have shallots) peeled and chopped 
700 ml vegetable stock (I have used chicken or ham stock before now)
1 garlic clove peeled and chopped
Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Natural yogurt and fresh thyme to finish


Method


Heat the oil in a large pan add the prepared squash potatot carrotts shallots(or onion). Cook and stir for about 5 minutes until starting to soften but not brown.


Add your stock of choice and the garlic bring to the boil and then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until all the vegetables are soft.


Blend the soup until smooth with a hand blender or in a liquidiser, or food processor or even a mouli.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and nutmeg and reheat until hot.  Serve garnished with a swirl of natural yoghurt, fresh time and a grinding of black pepper.


Alternatively this would be the perfect accompaniment to take in a flask if going on a good brisk walk, just to take the chill off things when you stop for a breather.


Enjoy