Lunch, Sorted: Simple Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced
500ml fresh vegetable stock, plus extra to thin if necessary
30g unsalted butter
4 fresh sage sprigs, leaves picked
salt and pepper

To finish
extra-virgin olive oil, to drizzle
1 x 200ml pot goats? yoghurt
good-quality balsamic vinegar, to drizzle

Method
Put the sunflower oil in a deep pan over a medium heat and fry the shallots for 2-3 minutes, or until starting to brown.

Add the butternut squash and cook for 5-6 minutes until a touch coloured.

Pour in the stock and season well. Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until the squash is nice and tender.

Using a hand blender, blitz the mixture until smooth, adding a little more stock if the soup is too thick.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a separate pan over a medium heat until foaming and fry the sage leaves. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt.

To serve, pour the soup into bowls and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Add a swirl of goats? yoghurt and a dash of balsamic vinegar. Garnish with the fried sage.

Extracted from The Big Family Cooking Showdown; foreword and original recipes by Rosemary Shrager (BBC Books, approx €22).