Sweet and Slightly Spicy Roasted Orange Veg Soup

The winter will be with us before we know it. It’s at this time of year I start to think about using more spices in our food. Spices are a great natural anti inflammatory. They are brilliant for killing off the bugs in our bodies. I like to start to put more of them in our meals about now.

As well as giving us a warm cosy feeling, spices have a lot of health benefits. Spices can increase our mood on a dark winter’s day, they can give our wintry aches and pains a boost and they can give us energy on a cold winter’s day.

Plus I love using spices to cook my meals, especially in my winter dishes. There is a wide variety available in supermarkets nowadays. Once you have a brilliant combination you can add them to all sorts of dinners including this soup.

Equipment

• Sharp knife
• Chopping board
• Vegetable peeler
• Blender
• Baking tray
• Saucepan

Ingredients for the curry sauce

• Red Chilli x 1 /2 – 1
• Dried lemongrass x 2 stalks
• Ginger x 1 inch piece
• Garlic x 2 cloves
• Coconut Milk x 500mls

Method for the curry sauce

• Remove the stalk from the chillies and slice in half.
• Scrape out the seeds with the back of the knife, if you’re a wuss like me.
• Next peel the skin from the piece of ginger and the garlic cloves.
• Cut the lemongrass into 1 centimetre pieces and put all of these ingredients into the blender.
• Blend all the ingredients together until they are smooth.
• Set side.

Ingredients for the soup

• Onion x 1
• Butternut squash x 1
• Carrots x 1
• Butter beans x 2 400g tins
• Vegetable stock x 500ml

Method for soup

• Preheat the oven to 180°C or gas mark 4.
• Peel the butternut squash, cut off the top and bottom.
• Slice the butternut squash in half and scoop out the seeds.
• Cut the butternut squash into large chucks and place in the baking tray.
• Next peel the carrots and cut into large chunks too.
• Place the carrot chunks in the baking tray.
• Open the tinned butter beans and drain them through the colander.
• Rinse the beans under the tap and place them in the baking tray.
• Pour over the curry sauce and the vegetable stock.
• Put the baking tray into the oven for 35 – 40 minutes or until the butternut squash has softened.
• Leave to cool.
• Once all the ingredients have cooled pour into the blender.
• Blend until smooth and then pour into the saucepan and heat until warm or hot.
• Serve with a chickpea flour wrap or cheesy flatbread and enjoy.

Sweet and Slightly Spicy Roasted Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup is a delicious way to enjoy spices and vegetables. It’s a great winter warm that could can be made in batches and frozen for another occasion. My husband and son ate these with a cheesy flatbread. I had mine with a chickpea flour wrap and these recipes will be coming soon. However you decide to eat this meal, as always, please enjoy.

Do you love soup in winter and if so what’s your favourite? Let me know in the comments below and please don’t forget to like and follow me. Thank you. xxx