Squash and sweet potato soup with garlic and rosemary

Warming and comforting, this is my go-to soup during the autumn (fall) and winter, when squash is in season. You can use butternut or onion squash, or even pumpkin it’s your choice. I like the addition of sweet potato too, for its excellent nutritional value. Rosemary and chilli are good partners to all types
of squash and sweet potato, but I have left the chilli optional (although when I make it, I like to add more chilli and make it nice and spicy!). Sometimes, when I am making this for the family, I omit the chilli during cooking and just add dried chilli (hot red pepper) flakes at the end to my portion. This soup is really simple to prepare and takes no time to cook. The only part that takes a little time is the peeling and chopping of the squash. You can do this in advance, if you wish, and store the chunks in the fridge. You can also buy ready-peeled chunks of squash and sweet potato in supermarkets now!

Cooking time: 25-30 minutes (not including veg preparation)

Portions: serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling 
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped 
• 1 onion, finely chopped 
• 2 rosemary sprigs, needles only 
• ½ fresh red chilli (optional) 
• 800 g/1 lb 12 oz squash, peeled and cut into chunks (weight after prep) 
• 200 g/7 oz sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks (weight after prep) 
• 1.2 litres/40 fl oz/5 cups hot vegetable stock (bouillon)

Preparation:

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan set over a medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, rosemary and chilli (if using) and sweat for about 4 minutes. Stir in the squash and sweet potato, then increase the heat and add the hot stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook for 12–15 min-
utes, until the squash and sweet potato are soft and cooked through. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little. Transfer the slightly cooled soup to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth (you may need to do this in 2 batches). Return the soup to the saucepan and gently reheat, if necessary. Divide between bowls and serve with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.