I travelled back in the UK for a time over Christmas and New Year. I enjoyed a little bit of mild winter, wore winter coats, and ice skated. I ate warming winter foods like this delicious Roasted Red Pepper and Squash Soup! I spent time with family, joined the local hot yoga studio, met up with friends and ate too much cheese. I knew it would soon end! It was like putting on an old pair of jeans – comfortable, familiar, and wondering whether these jeans would come back into fashion to see another season. Maybe one day…

One of the great things about being back in my old stomping grounds was easy access to foods I have missed. I mean, those fabulous winter vegetables! The predictability of online shopping! I took a few of my favourites and created the most fabulous soup, and I’m excited to share with you here. This soup has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties from the turmeric and garlic. This helps to build up your immune system – vital in cold climates to avoid catching whatever is going around. I give you Roasted Red Pepper and Squash Soup!

Ingredients

• 2 medium white onions
• 3 red peppers
• 1 butternut squash
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• Half a head of garlic (6 cloves)
• 1 tin coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil

Instructions

1. Add the coconut oil to a deep frying pan, let it melt over a medium low heat whilst you chop the onions. Add the onions and stir, fry for 10 minutes until translucent.
2. Halve and seed the peppers. Pop them in an air fryer and roast for 15 minutes – or roast in a hot oven – 200 degrees C / 400 degrees F. The goal is to char the skins.
3. Peel the butternut squash, remove seeds and roughly chop. peel the garlic, squash and chop it too.
4. First add the garlic to the onions, stir through and leave for a minute to fry. Then add the butternut squash, stock cube and the coconut milk. Fill the coconut milk tin with water and add that too. Lastly, add the thyme and turmeric. Stir, bring to a boil, turn down to simmer and cover.
5. When the peppers are charred – approximately 15 minutes roasting – remove them and put into a glass bowl, cover tightly with cling film and leave to cool. When cool, peel the skins off. You will find this surprisingly easy. You could even outsource this task to your child/friend/partner.
6. When all vegetables are soft from cooking, purée in your food processor, nutri-bullet or blender. The better a blender you have, the more velvety your soup will be.
7. Serve with a dollop of yogurt, swirl of oil, sprinkle some chili flakes, fresh chopped parsley or whatever you have to hand!

Enjoy!

I hope you enjoy this soup as much as I do! As always with soup I recommend Easy Sourdough Bread. However, while in London I went back to my Panasonic Breadmaker. I had forgotten how convenient and easy it is to just add the ingredients and have perfect bread turn up a few hours later. As long as I don’t forget the yeast… again…

This soup also works well as a creamy sauce for pasta – it’s a great way to use up leftovers and create a different type of dish.