50 mins
Super easy
serves 10
Ingredients
600–700g butternut or onion squash, halved, peeled and deseeded
optional: 3 freeze-dried lime leaves (Bart Spices, from Waitrose)
4 red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
2 thumb-sized pieces of fresh ginger, roughly chopped
2 lemongrass sticks, outer leaves discarded, roughly chopped
1 small bunch of fresh coriander, leaves picked and stalks chopped
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
600ml organic vegetable or chicken stock, hot
200g basmati rice
2 x 400ml cans of coconut milk
juice of 1–2 limes, to taste
optional: fresh coconut shavings, to serve
Method
I've given this butternut squash soup a distinctly Asian twist with spices, lime and coconut milk
- A lovely, warming winter soup that’s easy to make. It looks wicked in little tea cups with chilli, coriander and fresh coconut sprinkled on the top.
- Roughly chop the squash into big chunks, then set aside. Whiz the lime leaves, if using, 3 of the chillies, the garlic, ginger, lemongrass, coriander stalks, Chinese five spice and cumin to a dryish paste in a food processor. Discard the stringy bits, if any.
- Heat the oil in a deep saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the spice paste and onion and cook gently for about 10 minutes, stirring to release the flavours. Add the squash and stock, and stir around, scraping all the goodness off the bottom of the pan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, with the lid on, for about 15 minutes, until the squash is soft and cooked.
- Pour in the rice and give it a really good stir – the squash might begin to break up, but it doesn’t matter. Continue to simmer, covered, for 12 minutes, until the rice is just cooked.
- Add the coconut milk, stir again, taste and season carefully. Bring back to a simmer, then add the lime juice, to taste. Spoon into tea or coffee cups and decorate with the fresh coriander leaves, the remaining sliced chilli and some shaved fresh coconut, if using.
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