Butternut Squash Soup

This is a simple butternut squash which I came up with today. It takes less than an hour to make, depending on how quick you are at peeling the vegetables! Sorry but there are no photos today, didn't have the time.

Ingredients:

1 Butternut Squash 1 Onion Cayenne Pepper to taste Ground Cinnamon to taste Nutmeg Salt & Black Pepper Mixed Herbs to taste Olive Oil Water White Wine (optional) Creme Fraiche (optional)

1. Peel and chop the onion, place in a saucepan with a little olive oil. Heat until the onion goes soft and translucent.
2. Peel the squash and remove the seeds. Chop in to smallish pieces, this is one time when size doesn't matter, and add to the saucepan.
3. Just let the squash absorb some of the oil that is still in the saucepan and then add some boiling water. The amount will depend on the size of the saucepan and the size of the squash. You don't need to completely cover the squash, but you will need to ensure that the liquid does not completely evaporate otherwise the soup will burn!
4. Add some cayenne pepper to give a bit of a kick (it doesn't take a lot!), salt, pepper, ground nutmeg and some ground cinnamon (this helps to control the kick!). Add some mixed herbs if you like to enhance the flavour.
5. Simmer until the squash is cooked. Don't be afraid to add a bit more liquid during the cooking if it needs it. You could always add a bit of white wine instead of water (or as well as). I tend to use a wooden spoon to stir the soup as it is cooking and when I can start to squash the squash it is ready.
6. Now you need to liquidise the soup. There are several ways you can do this, a blender, hand mixer, hand blender or even the wooden spoon. I tend to use the small electric hand blender as I can just blend the soup in the saucepan.
7. Stir in a dollop of creme fraiche if you want the soup to be a bit creamier.

You may have noticed that I don't add any extra stock, just the water that is used to cook the vegetables, there really is no need. When adding the liquid, don't over do it or you will end up with a very thin soup. It is better to add the liquid a little at a time, I normally ensure that to start with the vegetables are at least a third to a half covered. I normally serve this with freshly baked rolls.