Garlic and Butternut Soup

This is a richly flavoured soup, given bite by the spicy tomato salsa served with it. It make a fabulous soup for lunch on a chilly day.

Ingredients:

2 whole garlic bulbs, outer papery skin removed

A few fresh thyme sprigs

15ml olive oil

1 large butternut squash, halved

2 onions chopped

5ml ground coriander

1.2L vegetable stock

30-45ml chopped fresh oregano or marjoram

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Salsa:

4 large ripe tomatoes, halved and seeded

1 sweet red pepper

1 large fresh red chilli, seeded

15ml extra virgin olive oil

15ml balsamic vinegar

Pinch of caster sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 220˚C. Wrap the garlic bulbs in foil with the thyme and 7.5ml of the oil. Put the parcel on a baking sheet with the squash and tomatoes, pepper and fresh chilli for the salsa. Brush the squash with 10ml of the remaining oil.

Roast the vegetables for 25 minutes. Remove the tomatoes, pepper and chilli. Reduce the oven temperature to 190 ˚C and roast the squash and garlic for a further 20-25 minutes, or until just tender.

Heat the remaining oil in a large non-stick pan and cook the onions and ground coriander gently for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, skin the pepper and chilli, then process them with the tomatoes and the oil for the salsa. Stir in the vinegar and seasoning to taste, adding a pinch of sugar to help bring out the flavour of the tomatoes and pepper.

Squeeze the roasted garlic out of its skin into the onions and add the squash, scooped out of its skin. Add the stock and seasoning. Simmer gently for 10 minutes. Stir in half the chopped fresh herbs then blend or sieve the soup. Reheat and check the seasoning. Serve in warmed bowls topped with a spoonful of salsa and sprinkled with the remaining herbs.

Serves 6