Butternut Squash Bacon And Lentil Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Everything is roughly chopped as you will blend it at the end anyway. Fry the bacon in the butter (a good egg size lump for me!) on a low to medium heat just to colour it (not crisp it). 5 minutes later add the pieces of butternut squash, celery, leeks, and carrot and sweat off for 5 - 10 mins on a low heat. Don't colour the vegetables - you're just trying to soften them. Add the stock (use your imagination on how thick you like your soup but I'd have thought about 1.5 - 2 litres would be good). Stir and let simmer for at least half an hour. Add your lentils and simmer for at least another half hour. If you leave the lid off the soup will become more concentrated. After an hour I normally add some milk - about a quarter pint and just let simmer on a low heat for another 15 minutes. Add some salt & pepper (to your taste). Once cooked, let cool for 10 minutes and then whizz with a hand blender. Once cool, I add some flat leaved parsley and (if not freezing) a swirl of cream. This freezes fabulously and is great for a lunch at work with some fresh crusty bread.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish or saucepan over a medium-high heat. Fry the onions with a pinch of salt for 7 mins, or until softened and just caramelised. Add the garlic, chilli and ras el hanout, and cook for 1 min more.
• Stir in the squash and lentils. Pour over the stock and season to taste. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, covered, for 25 mins or until the squash is soft. Blitz the soup with a stick blender until smooth, then season to taste. To freeze, leave to cool completely and transfer to large freezerproof bags.
• Stir in the coriander leaves and ladle the soup into bowls. Serve topped with the dukkah, yogurt and extra coriander leaves.