A recipe for squash, red pepper and red chilli soup

This recipe is super-easy. You don't need stock, onions, or spices - just roast the vegetables, blend and add hot water. It has a surprisingly complex flavour - sweet from the squash and red pepper, earthy from the garlic and fiery from the chilli. 

I make so much squash soup at this time of year, as I tend to have lots of squash which aren't fully ripe when I pick them in October (they have to come in before the first frost). So, they all sit on the window sills until they are ready to eat (usually from Christmas time onwards). It's lovely to be eating something so sunny at such a gloomy l time of year. 

Butternut squash, red pepper and red chilli soup (serves two)

500g butternut squash

1 red pepper

1 red chilli

6 cloves garlic

Hot water
Squeeze of lemon

Preheat the oven to 200C, 400F (180C fan).

Peel the butternut squash, cut into chunks about 3cm across. Deseed and chop the red pepper. Put them both in a baking tray with the whole red chilli and the garlic cloves (still in their skins), drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and cook for 20-30 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.

Boil the kettle. Scrape the vegetables into a saucepan, pop the garlic cloves out of their skins, and halve and deseed the chilli (you can add whole or half the chilli depending on how hot it is). Blend everything together, pour in the hot water until you have the consistency you like. Squeeze in some lemon juice, add more salt if needed, and top with yoghurt or creme fraiche if you fancy. 

A recipe for squash dip

I harvested my squash in October, and immediately cut one up to make soup.  It was not ready, and the rest spent two months ripening on a warm windowsill. Finally, just in time for Christmas, they were good enough to eat.

We’ve had a lot of squash soup since then, as well as squash risotto, squash dip, squash pizza...

This squash dip is good hot or cold. We spread it on toast and eat it for lunch. I got the idea of putting peanut butter with squash from this very tasty River Cottage soup recipe.

Squash and ginger dip (makes one bowl)

I love the combination of squash and ginger, but you could use garlic and chilli as well.

400g - 500g butternut squash (about half a squash)

Olive oil (or any other cooking oil)

Salt

1 cm chunk of fresh ginger

Squeeze of lemon juice (about 2 tsp)

3 tsp peanut butter

4 - 8 tbs water

Preheat the oven to 200 C, 400 F. Peel the butternut squash, chop into 2cm cubes, and put in a baking tray. Drizzle over the oil and salt, and roast in the oven until soft (about 20 minutes).

Put the roast squash in a food processor, grate in the ginger, and then add the lemon juice, peanut butter and water. Blitz, taste and add more of the ingredients as necessary. You might need more water to get the right consistency.