Butternut Squash Soup

 We eat quite a lot of veg but every now and again I feel the need for a lot of veg - homemade soup is a great ( and cheap ) way to tick all the boxes, plus it's cold and dreary and soup and crusty bread is a great winter supper.

So easy...

Ingredients

1 Butternut Squash or any large amount of pumpkin or squash

2 Large Onions roughly chopped

5 Fat Cloves Garlic roughly chopped

3 Sticks Celery roughly chopped

4 Large Carrots roughly chopped

1 Large Red Pepper roughly chopped

1 Small Red or Green Chilli ( optional )

2 Vegetable stock pots /cubes

1 Tin Coconut Milk

Splash Lea & Perrins

2 Bay Leaves

1 Teaspoon mixed dried herbs

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

I chopped and roasted my squash in a hot oven for about 45 minutes first but you can just put all the veg in without pre roasting.

Pour a glug of olive oil into a large pot ( with a lid ) and fry all the veg for about 10 minutes, turning over now and again, add all the other ingredients except for the coconut milk and a little water, bring to the boil and turn the heat right down.

You don't need too much water at this stage as it'll just make a wet thin soup, you can always add more water if needed after blending.

Cover with lid and leave to gently simmer for about 45 minutes or until all the veg are soft.

Leave to cool slightly then blend with a stick blender or liquidize in a food processor.

Pour back into pot and heat but not to boiling. Add coconut milk and check seasoning, thin out with a little water if necessary.

Serve with crusty bread.

Photo courtesy of BBC food as we ate our before taking a photo, it looks almost exactly the same with the same lovely deep colour coming from the red pepper

Kavita's Prawn Curry

This is a fantastic recipe from the Rick Stein India recipe book, I do make a lot of curries and often forget this one but it's an absolute favorite. I forget how easy it is too, it comes together in no time at all - just the fiddly de-veining of the prawns - 

Now, I did put three chillies in this yesterday and it was hotter than the sun - two chillies next time I think, I mean, I like it hot but this was a bit much :) Also I put in about 300mls of passata as I think that 100 is too little

 Ingredients

60mls Olive oil

1 Tablespoon Black Mustard Seeds

1 Large Onion Finely Chopped

24 Fresh Curry Leaves

3 Cloves Garlic Finely Chopped

2 Teaspoons Kashmiri Chilli Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Coriander

1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric

100mls Tomato Passata ( I used 300mls ) 

100mls Tamarind Liquid

3 Green Birds Eye Chillies Chopped ( makes it pretty hot ) 

1 Teaspoon White Wine Vinegar

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

500gms Large Prawns

Fresh Coriander and Basmati Rice to serve

Heat the oil in a large flameproof pot and add the mustard seeds until they start to pop, add the onion and half the curry leaves and cook for ten minutes until pale golden - do not burn - add the garlic and cook for a further three minutes, add the spices and fry for 30 seconds.

Stir in everything else plus a little water to create a sauce ( as thick or thin as you like )  and simmer for about 4 minutes until the prawns are cooked.

Stir in the remaining curry leaves and some chopped coriander and serve.

Vegan veg Massaman

I made a beef version of this alongside this vegan one for Sam, there really aren't a lot of differences and both turned out great, my only mistake was putting cauliflower in as it was cooked in my slow cooker and it went mushy - not nice - never doing that again. On the plus side Sam said it tasted good so there's that :) 

 Ingredients

For the paste

Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor

8 Dried red chillies split with the seeds removed ( I used fresh with the seeds )

4 Tablespoons Hot Water

1.5 Teaspoons Ground Cumin

1.5 Teaspoons Ground Coriander

1/2  Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

4 Green Cardamom pods split ( use only the seeds inside )

A pinch of Nutmeg

1 Teaspoon salt

1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper

1 Red Onion chopped

1 Thumb size piece of Ginger or Galangal chopped

5 Fat Cloves Garlic chopped

1 Tablespoon Lemongrass ( I used puree )

Blitz to a nice paste and set aside.

For the curry

1 Kilo mixed Veg - nice firm veg are best

180mls Vegan Stock

1 x 400g Tin Coconut Milk

1 Large Onion - sliced thinly

400gm Waxy Potatoes

1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup ( or Agave syrup )

1 Tablespoon Tamarind Paste

2 Bay Leaves

1 Start Anise

1 Cinnamon Stick

Salt and Pepper

20g Chopped Peanuts ( optional ) 

Little slaked cornflour to thicken if necessary

Chopped Coriander to serve.

Ready for the freezer....

I think I'd blitz this and serve it as Vegetable Massaman soup, the flavour is great!