Butternut squash and coconut spiced soup

Our butternut squash and coconut soup is a super menopause lunchtime meal. It’s full of flamboyant flavour and colour, it’ll certainly warm you up through any wintery weather. The lime adds an unexpected lightness to the delicate spicy flavour.

Light, creamy and vegan to boot. You’ll love this for lunch or as a supper starter.

Serves:          4-6

Prep time:     15 minutes

Cook time:    30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 tbsps coconut oil

• 1 butternut squash around 900g, peeled, seeded, and cut into small 1.5cm chunks

• 2 medium onions chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• ½ fresh red chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped

• 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled with a teaspoon, and finely chopped

• 2 tsp garam masala

• 2 tsp ground turmeric

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• 1/8 tsp red chilli flakes

• sea salt, to taste

• 400ml coconut milk

• 800ml vegetable stock

• juice of ½ lime, or to taste

• coconut flakes, lightly toasted, optional

• handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Method

1. Heat the coconut oil in a large heavy based saucepan and gently fry the onions on a low heat for 5 minutes, then add the garlic, fresh chilli and ginger and fry for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and starting to colour.

2. Stir in the garam masala, ground turmeric, cumin, coriander and chilli flakes. Fry for 1 minute or until the spice darkens slightly.

3. Peel the squash, with a potato peeler. Scrape out and discard the seeds. Add the diced flesh to the pan with a pinch of salt. Cover and cook for 8-10minutes, stirring regularly until the squash begins to soften.

4. Add ¾ tin of coconut milk to the pan, reserving the rest for serving. Add the vegetable stock. Bring the mixture to boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the squash is soft, about 20 minutes.

5. While the soup is cooking, toast the coconut flakes in a small frying pan over a medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until lightly golden on the edges. Ensure they don’t burn. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

6. Once the squash mixture is cooked, taste and add seasoning if required. Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly. In batches, transfer the mixture to a blender (do not over fill the blender). Blend until smooth, transfer pureed soup to a serving bowl and repeat with the remaining batches.

7. Stir the lime juice into the blended soup. Check seasoning. Divide into bowls. Top with toasted coconut flakes, and a sprinkle of chopped coriander.