As spring begins to unfold and the weather changes to beautiful sunny days and chilly evenings, I like that we can still enjoy warming and wholesome soups. Butternut squash is so versatile and there are various ways to use it in soups, curries, salads etc.

This recipe is created by Chef Annie James at Sunrise of Tettenhall  for Sunrise Senior Living who make sure that all of their recipes are nutritious and tasty, making them great for everyone, not just the elderly. Of the many recipe options they sent me I choose to make this one because I simply adored red lentils as those who read my blog will know. The buttery aroma of onions sauteing which filled my kitchen was simply amazing and very satisfying. Needless to say the soup went down and treat and even normally fussy hubster greedily licked his bowl clean – no better compliment than that folks ins’t it? I must admit I couldn’t resist adding a bit of my own personal finishing touches as my palate is so used to all the spicy and tangy little ad-on’s that I normally use 😉

Serves:4  Preparation Time: 10 minutes  Cooking time: approx 25 minutes Ingredients:

• 400 ml vegetable stock
• 150 gms butternut squash – peeled and diced into bite sized bits
• 12 gm unsalted butter
• 2 red onion – peeled and chopped fine
• 3 carrots -peeled and diced into small bits
• 60gm dried red lentil ie. masoor dal – split without skin
• Sea salt with a hint of garlic
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• small quantity of fresh coriander to garnish

Method:

• In a large saucepan or stockpot melt the butter on a medium flame
• Saute’ the finely chopped onions in the butter for just under 4- 5 minutes till they turn a beautiful golden brown colour and reduce
• Then add in the chopped carrots, squash and saute’ for a further 2- 3 minutes
  

  Bite sized Carrots and Butternut Squash sauteed in butter and onion

• Now stir in the vegetable stock and the red lentils.
• Reduce to a low flame and let the soup simmer gently.
• Cook until the vegetables and lentils are tender.
• Allow the soup to cool down to room temperature, then using a hand blender puree’ until smooth or like I did give it a whizz in your food processor.
• Season with sea salt with a garlic or plain sea salt and add a generous sprinkling of freshly cracked black pepper.
• Garnish with a just a small amount of finely chopped fresh coriander.
• Serve hot ideally with a warm crusty bread with a dollop of butter. If your conscience allows it stir in a small amount of fresh cream into the soup or smother your crusty bread with some freshly made garlic butter 😉

*With thanks to Sunrise Senior Living and the  PR team for reimbursing the expense for ingredients . No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.