Sweet potato & butternut squash soup with lemon & garlic toast

2 of 5-a-day 600 kcal or less christmas dinner party christmas soup christmas starter dinner party starter fibre for a crowd over an hour vitamin c winter winter soup

N/A

Source

Ingredients

500g sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and diced

1 tbsp clear honey

1 tbsp olive oil, plus a drizzle

2 onions, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1l vegetable or chicken stock

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp grated nutmeg

100ml double cream

1 tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves, crushed

100g butter, at room temperature

zest 1 lemon

2 tbsp snipped chives

1 tbsp chopped thyme

2 ciabatta loaves, cut into slices

Method

Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Put the sweet potato and butternut squash on a baking tray and add the honey and a drizzle of olive oil. Roast for 40-45 mins until soft and starting to caramelise at the edges, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, fry the onions in 1 tbsp olive oil until soft, then add the garlic, chicken stock, cinnamon and nutmeg. Bring to the boil, and simmer for 5 mins.

Remove the sweet potatoes and butternut squash from the oven and add to the pan with the stock. Blend everything until smooth using a stick blender. Stir in most of the cream and bring back to a gentle simmer, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

To make the lemon & garlic toasts, gently warm the olive oil and garlic in a pan over a low heat for a few mins; the garlic should be softened but not browned. Remove from the heat and mix in the butter and lemon zest until smooth. Leave to cool, then stir in the chives and thyme.

Toast the ciabatta slices, and top each with a spoonful of garlic butter. Serve with the soup, drizzled with the remaining cream, and some black pepper.