Cumin Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

This soup is so simple to make that I'm not sure a recipe is even needed. Indeed, my "recipe" is a bit on the vague side - I just threw in what I liked the look of and a silky smooth, delicious soup was born!

I also can't tell you how many servings this soup makes. Based on the fact that I used two whole butternut squashes for it, I was expecting to have leftovers to eat tonight. We had it for dinner yesterday. The children had eaten earlier as Izzy had a school friend round for tea, so it was just Liam and I eating it last night. I served myself a bowl and then left Liam to serve himself some while I took photos. Luckily I mentioned that Izzy wanted to try it the following day, as by the time he'd finished serving himself there was only a small amount left for Izzy. I didn't see how much Liam ate so I suppose I'll have to say it serves 2-3 people, but hopefully you can get more portions out of it!

Cumin Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

• 2 butternut squashes, peeled and sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic, skin left on
• oil, for roasting
• ground cumin, to taste
• vegetable stock (I used 1 veg oxo cube + 350ml hot water, but you may want to use more/less water depending on your desired soup consistency)

1. Pre-heat oven to 200C.
2. Place the butternut squash in roasting tins and coat/spray with oil. Put the garlic cloves on top of the squash to roast.

3. After 20 minutes roasting, remove tins from the oven. Remove the garlic cloves and set to one side. Stir butternut squash and sprinkle with cumin, and more oil if necessary. Place back in the oven for another 15 minutes.

4. After 35 minutes total roasting time, my butternut squash was cooked. This may vary depending on how you cut the squash though, so put back in the oven if necessary. You want the squash to be soft and caramelised.

5. Once your squash is cooked, put it into the blender with the peeled roasted garlic. Add more cumin, to taste, and slowly add the vegetable stock. I used 350ml in total and this produced a velvety soup. It was quite thick, but definitely a soup rather than a puree.

I served my soup with a sprinkle of Munchy seeds on top...

Dee-licious. Definitely one to make again. The cumin provided a gently spiced flavour without being overpowering. This soup was inspired by a soup I had in a restaurant back in April. I've been meaning to recreate it ever since, and I'm so glad I finally got round to it! Liam loved the soup too - he had a (however large?) bowl of soup plus 3 slices of bread and declared himself well and truly full!

What are your favourite soups to make? Any recipes you'd like to share? I used to make soup a lot when I lived in Winchester, but I haven't made many in recent years. I want to get back into it this winter though, they're so simple to make and provide a good serving of vegetables too. My favourite always used to be curried parsnip soup - must make that soon!