superb squash soup with the best parmesan croutons

Ingredients

olive oil

16 fresh sage leaves

2 red onions, peeled and chopped

2 sticks celery, trimmed and chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves picked

½ - 1 fresh red chilli, to taste, deseeded and finely chopped

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 kg butternut squash, onion squash or musque de Provence, halved, deseeded and cut into chunks

2 litres organic chicken or vegetable stock

extra virgin olive oil

For the croutons

extra virgin olive oil

16 slices ciabatta bread

1 block Parmesan cheese, for grating

Method

Put a very large saucepan on a medium heat and pour in a couple of lugs of olive oil. Add the sage leaves and fry for around 30 seconds or until dark green and crisp. Quickly remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl lined with kitchen paper – you'll use these for sprinkling over at the end. In the pan you'll be left with a beautifully flavoured oil, so put it back on the heat and throw in your onion, celery, carrot, garlic, rosemary leaves, chilli and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook gently for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are sweet and soft. Add the squash and the stock to the pan, bring to the boil and simmer for around half an hour.

While the soup is cooking, make your croutons. Drizzle a little olive oil over the ciabatta slices, pat it in and press some grated Parmesan on to each side. Place in a non-stick pan without any oil and fry until golden on both sides.

When the squash is soft and cooked through, whiz the soup with a hand blender or pour it into a liquidizer and pulse until you have a smooth purée (but you can leave it slightly chunky if you like). Most importantly, remember to taste and season it until it's perfect. Divide the soup between your bowls, placing 2 croutons on top of each. Sprinkle with a few of your crispy sage leaves and drizzle with a swirl of good-quality extra virgin olive oil.