Easy to make butternut squash soup for 4 people. What better way to come home after being on the allotments on a cold damp day to a hearty bowl of warm butternut squash soup. Easy to make and to add other things such as roast veg, chilli etc. to personalise to taste. Ingredients: • butternut squash about 1kg, peeled and deseeded • 2 tbsp olive oil • 1 tbsp butter • 2 onions diced • 1 garlic clove thinly sliced • 2 mild red chillies deseeded and finely chopped • 850ml hot vegetable stock • 4 tbsp crème fraîche plus more to serve

Method • Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. • Cut the squash into large cubes, about 4cm/1½in across, then toss in a large roasting tin with 1 tbsp of the olive oil. • Roast for 30 mins, turning once during cooking, until golden and soft. • While the butternut squash cooks, melt the butter with the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan, then add the onions, garlic clove and three-quarters of the chillies. • Cover and cook on a very low heat for 15-20 mins until the onions are completely soft. • Tip the butternut squash into the pan, add the stock and crème fraîche, then whizz with a stick blender until smooth. For a really silky soup, put the soup into a liquidiser and blitz it in batches. • Return to the pan, gently reheat, then season to taste. Serve the soup in bowls with swirls of crème fraîche and a scattering of the remaining chopped chilli. You could, of course, use a soup maker saving time and effort by adding all your ingredients and blending into a lovely soft soup. Enjoy!