Hi everyone, I've been cooking soup today. Nothing outstanding, but tasty and warming on a cold, Autumn day. Ideal fare for a Halloween party, easy to make and loved by both adults and kids alike.

Roasted spicy squash and sweet potato soup

Ingredients

2 onions finely chopped
1 T ghee, or compliant oil
1 large butternut squash (or compliant squash/pumpkin)
2 sweet potatoes (or white potatoes for those who can eat them!)
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinammon
1/2 tsp cayenne (or to taste) optional, could use chilli flakes
2 tsp garlic paste (or grated garlic cloves)
2 tsp ginger paste (or grated ginger)
2 pts stock, I like chicken or turkey but use whatever you like

Heat the oven to 200c or 400f, split the squash lengthways and take out the seeds. Add the sweet potatoes and squash to a roasting tin and bake for 45 mins or until soft. Meanwhile, in a soup pan, sweat the onions in the ghee on a low heat, once softened but NOT coloured, add the garlic, ginger and dried spices. Stir on a low heat for a few minutes for the flavours to infuse.

Take the squash/potatoes out of the oven, scoop out the flesh and discard the skins. Add the flesh to the soup pan and warm through, mashing gently. Add a couple of pints of stock (or water) to get a soup that's the thickness you like, I like it thick and filling. Warm through then blend with a stick blender or food processor.

You could garnish the soup with either chopped nuts (compliant for you), dry fried cumin seeds, cream/quark (again check your type) or kefir, some chopped chives would be nice for colour. It would be lovely with blue cheese or feta if you can eat this ;-) I can't but wish I could ;-)

I love this soup with lots of garlic and my vegetable hating 8 year old son will eat this every day given the chance! Serve with hot crusty bread (compliant to your type, flax focaccia is lovely with it) and I admit I like to dip chicken breast pieces into the soup as I eat it. Got to get my protein :-)