Spicy Squash Soup

Serves 3

– 3 butternut squash

– 2 sticks of celery

– 1 carrot

– 1 small jalapeño or 1/2 a larger one

– 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar

– 3 or 4 sticks of fresh thyme

– 3 or 4 sticks of fresh rosemary

– salt

Optional – pumpkin seeds

Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Then slice your squash into thick rounds, cut off the skin and then cut into cubes. Place these on a roasting dish with a little olive oil, salt, the rosemary and thyme. Bake for about twenty minutes, until the cubes are perfectly soft and tender.

While the squash cooks, peel the carrot and remove the ends of the celery. Then chop them up nice and small and place in a pan with one cup of boiling water, put the lid on and allow them to slowly disintegrate into a stock, after about 12 minutes the veggies should be nice and soft. At this point put them and the water into a liquidizer until a runny liquid forms. Keep this warm to add to the squash once it is ready.

Next, finely chop the jalapeño, removing its seeds first.

When the squash is cooked add it to the blender with the jalapeño, apple cider vinegar. As you blend slowly pour in the stock until you reach your desired consistency.

If you like pumpkin seeds, which I do, toast these while the soup continues to warm. Once they are nice and crunchy stir them into the soup bowl.