Spicy butternut soup

Butternut soup is a firm winter favourite in many homes. It’s also such a quick and easy soup to make, yet I have a very good friend who insists she doesn’t know how. Many recipes simply call for you to cook up some onions, butternut and potato and season to taste with cream or orange juice. Easy peasy, and it will be good. But when it starts getting really chilly outside, I like this spicy version to warm you up, just as simple but a little more tasty.

Spicy butternut soup

Serves 10

2 large onions, halved and sliced
750 g – 1 kg butternut, peeled and cubed
1 clove of garlic, crushed
15 ml freshly grated ginger
1 small red chilli, seeded and chopped
15 ml curry powder
10 ml ground cumin
15 ml lemon juice
1 – 1,25 litres chicken or vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
250 ml coconut milk
50 ml fresh, chopped coriander

1. Heat an AMC 24 cm High over a medium temperature until the Visiotherm reaches the first red area.
2. Sauté the onions until transparent and add butternut. Sauté for 3 – 4 minutes and add spices and lemon juice, sautéing for a few more minutes to develop the flavours.
3. Add the stock, cover with lid and allow Visiotherm to reach first red area again. Reduce heat to lowest setting and cook for 20 – 25 minutes, or until butternut is soft.
4. Remove from heat and using a stick blender, liquidise the vegetables until smooth. (Or pour half of soup into food processor and blend. Do the same with remaining soup.)
5. Season to taste and stir in coconut milk. If preferred, thin soup with more stock, milk or coconut milk. Heat through, garnish with coriander and serve with bread of your choice.

Tips:

• Substitute coconut milk with cream, milk or Bulgarian yoghurt. If using the yoghurt, only add once soup has stopped simmering and do not reheat, to help prevent curdling.
• To make this in an AMC 20 cm High (as in photo), reduce your quantities slightly.