Travels for Taste

Tales of travel and food with a touch of spice

Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup

by 12 Comments

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.

Soup and stews are a great meal option for so many reasons, here are my top 5 reasons why I enjoy cooking both:

  • Delicious, hearty and wholesome
  • Easy, fuss-free one-pot style cooking, saves time
  • Great for batch-cooking
  • Ideal for busy mid-week meals
  • Easy to please fussy eaters!
  • Just combine with bread, various toppings and add an extra dash of something special
  • Add lentils to bulk out soups and stews

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 isn’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 add-on’s that I normally use 😉

Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Soup

Chef Annie James at Sunrise of Tettenhall for Sunrise Senior Living
Hearty and delicious Butternut squash soup with added protien and taste with quick cooking red lentils
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine Fusion
Servings 4 people

Equipment

  • Saucepan

Ingredients
  

  • 400 ml vegetable stock
  • 150 gms Butternut Squash – peeled and diced into bite-sized bits
  • 60 gms Dried red lentil i.e. masoor dal – split without skin
  • 3 Carrots – peeled and diced into small bits
  • 2 Red onion – peeled and chopped fine
  • 12 gms Unsalted butter
  • Sea salt with a hint of garlic
  • Freshly cracked black pepper
  • A small quantity of fresh coriander to garnish

Instructions
 

  • In a large saucepan or stockpot melt the butter on a medium flame
  • Sauté’ 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 sauté’ for a further 2- 3 minutes.
  • 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 as I did, give it a whizz in your food processor
  • Season with sea salt with garlic or plain sea salt and add a generous sprinkling of freshly cracked black pepper
  • Garnish with just a small amount of finely chopped fresh coriander
  • Serve hot ideally with a slice of 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
Keyword Butternut Squash Soup

Looking for easy to make, delicious Soup and Stew recipes? Why not browse through some of my easy to follow recipes:

*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. 

Easy Ham and cheese tart recipe

by 12 Comments

Hello Everyone!

I have been away on a long holiday in Indian for almost four weeks. I got back last week and it has taken my system a few days to throw off the jet-lag completely and my internal thermostat to acclimatise to the massive difference in the weather.But am back now all refreshed and raring to go! So expect a lot of new and fun recipes, LOTS of travel posts and many photographs from my foodie and travel adventures – oh yes not to mention more exciting competitions, fabulous restaurant reviews and events that I will be going to soon – woohoo!

While I was in India I did a fair bit of travelling to Chennai, Pondicherry and shuttling between Mumbai and Pune. So all the resulting fatigue has taken it’s toll too.

Besides have discovered that I do have a fair amount of catching up to do with my blogging as well. hummm

So dinner the day after I landed had had to be a simple affair, because my body clock was still following IST. We decided to make a quick and super easy yet delicious Turkey, Ham and cheese tart using my own recipe. Hubster and me are both big fans of Jus-Rol as it really can save the day when things are crazy busy or plain lazy 😉

I have made a few minor tweaks to the original recipe but other than that it was smooth sailing. Here is my version:

Easy Ham and Cheese Tart recipe

Manjiri Chitnis
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe
Prep Time 8 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Side Dish

Ingredients
  

  • 320 Grams Puff pastry ready rolled sheet
  • 2 medium-sized Onions peeled & chopped fine
  • 100 Grams Cooked Ham diced
  • 1 – 2 tbsp Oil
  • 3 tbsp heaped Smoked Chilli Honey
  • 250 Grams Cooked Turkey Diced
  • Salt & Black Pepper as per taste
  • 75 Grams Grated Parmesan Cheese

Instructions
 

  • Heat oil in a large pan, gently sauté the onion until it is translucent, then add the diced ham and cook on a low flame for about 2 minutes
  • Meanwhile remove the puff pastry ready rolled sheet and allow it to rest while the filling is being prepared.
  • Add the turkey, season to taste and then add the smoked chilli honey. Stir continuously to ensure the chilli honey does not burn and cook on a gentle, low flame for a further 2 minutes
  • Preparea baking tray by lining with a baking sheet and carefully place the puff pastry ready rolled sheet onto the baking sheet
  • Pre heat the oven to 220°C or 200°C for fan assisted ovens or Gas mark 7
  • Spoon out the Turkey and Ham mixture onto the baking sheet and sprinkle the grated Parmesan cheese over the mixture
  • Bake in the pre heated for 20 minutes and serve hot
IMG_9451 (Copy)

I remember going to buy Jus- Rol at a supermarket two years ago post Christmas and it simply wasn’t available anywhere. Clearly people had been smart and stocked up on this lifesaving fridge fav for all those leftover meals after the big day. And have since then made a mental note to stock up well in advance for future occasions. There have been numerous dinners and surprise tea time treats for unannounced but welcome visitors who have been fed piping hot treats with several hot cuppas thanks to that pastry roll lying in my fridge! So like many of my store  cupboard essentials this is one of my life savers and will almost always be found living in my refrigerator.

I loved this recipe and now am looking forward to more experiments with Jus-Rol .

If you need more inspiration to get creative with Jus-Rol why not check out these gorgeous recipes on the Jus-Rol website ?

*With thanks to Jus-Rol and the  PR team for sending vouchers to buy some samples of Jus-Rol  for review . No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Smoked Spanish Peppers and Zingy Mushrooms in a creamy sauce

by 12 Comments

My love for using smoked sweet red peppers is taking over my recipes for now , I made these zingy mushrooms for a friend who popped in for brunch about 2 months ago but I have been very lazy and this recipe is finally seeing daylight. I guess the electric atmosphere of the yellow jersey clad stadium full of Brazil fans and the super tight match going on with Camroon is giving me a much needed rush of happy hormones ,add to that the frenzy of the Wimbledon matches , the air in Wimbledon is heavy with anticipation, huge posters , fluorescent tennis ball props in all windows , the traditional colours of the Wimbledon ribbons and balloons galore, the bus service from the station to the venue with hyperexcited people , everything is screaming tennis here!

Lamuyo Peppers are great for roasting as they are bigger and sweeter than their cousins the hot variety. They are juicy and crunchy and go well with garlic,basil,oregano,taste fab with cheese , think stuffed peppers grilled , just perfect for summer !

The recipe was given to me by P aunty , shes a fab cook as I have mentioned in my past posts too and her recipes are innovative, delicious and easy to make, I love pestering her to keep sending me more recipes everytime we talk 😉 .So I decided to amp up this recipe with some madness my style and use up the handsome red pepper staring at me from my fridge 😉

Ingredients:

  • 1 large pack Chestnut Mushrooms sliced
  • 1 large red Lamuyo sweet pepper
  • 8 cloves Garlic- bash and chop fine
  • 1/2 red onionchopped very fine
  • 2 chillies- (more or less acc to your taste) – chop fine
  • 3 heaped tbs flavoured soft cheese, I love using the herby Philadelphia
  • 2 tbsp  Olive Oil
  • Sea Salt to taste
  • Parsley- a handful -chopped finely

Method:

  • Roast the pepper on gas flame till the skin chars and begins to peel off, I use tongs to hold it by the stem so it can char even at the top.
  • While the pepper cools just enough to allow you to peel and reveal the smoked juicy flesh, you can use the time to wash and slice the chestnut mushrooms
  • While taking off the charred skin off the smoked pepper remember to place a dish below as it will release lots of juice which we don’t want to loose as it is one powerhouse of smoky peppery sweet flavour!
  • Heat oil in a sauce pan and saute the garlic till it turns brown and the familiar aroma of fabulous garlic begins to waft and assault your nostrils.
  • Then add the very finely chopped red onion and cook on a low flame stirring regularly till the onion is thoroughly crispy and reduces in quantity, do not let it burn.
  • Then toss in the mushrooms and the chopped smoked pepper and cook for about 2 minutes on a low flame ,stirring and making sure it does not stick to the pan or overcook
  • Then add the soft cheese ,sea salt and finely chopped parsley,mix well and cook with lid for about 1 to 1 1/2 minute.
  • Serve with garlic bread smothered in butter – eat guilt free;)

What I love about this dish , its creamy , its a bit sweet a bit more zingy and has an underlying deep smoked flavour that is robust without being overpowering ,I’d say its a new comfort food for me , what with all the moorish soft cheese in there!1-IMG_6699 (Copy)

Recent Posts