Butternut squash and apple soup

The pumpkin seeds make a perfect proteinpacked snack in their own right.

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large white onion, diced

2 green apples, peeled and chopped

½ tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground ginger ¼ tsp chilli powder

1 ½ tsp fine sea salt

2 kg butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and cubed

2 litres vegetable stock (made from vegan stock powder)

Spiced pumpkin seeds

120g pumpkin seeds 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

½ tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp chilli powder Generous pinch of salt and black pepper

METHOD

Heat oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the chopped onion, apple, cinnamon, ginger, chilli powder and salt.

Cook, stirring occasionally, for around 5 minutes then add the butternut squash to the pot, and stir to coat for another 5 minutes. Add the stock, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, with the pot covered, for around 40-50 minutes, until the squash is soft. Allow the soup to cool and blitz in a blender or with a hand-held immersion blender until completely smooth.

To make the spiced pumpkin seeds – combine the oil, cinnamon, chilli powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Add the pumpkin seeds and stir to coat. Heat a pan over medium heat and tip in the pumpkin seeds.

Allow them to toast in the pan, while stirring to ensure they don’t burn, for around 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool fully.

Serve the soup with a generous sprinkling of spiced pumpkin seeds.