Butternut squash soup is a dish which me or my partner make almost every week, we both love it and enjoy trying different additions. This one has a sweet and warm flavour which reminds Rob, my partner, of Hungarian flavours and he should know as his mother hales from Hungary. This summer I’ll be visiting Hungary myself and can’t wait to try the food and see the beauty of Budapest. Rob and I will be travelling from mid-April onward this year with no real plan on where to land at the end or when that will be. It’s exciting and a bit scary and definitely the beginning of a new chapter as we’ll be moving away from the UK to search for and settle somewhere else in the world. But let’s go back to talking food now! I think one of the main reasons this dish is a reminder of Hungarian food is the fact that peppers are included and that I spice it with smoked paprika, both staples in Hungarian cooking in my understanding. The flavours do come together really well making a sweet and smoky creamy soup with some acidity from the tomatoes. It also has the most beautiful colour as the orange of the butternut squash and reds from the tomatoes and peppers blend. I hope you enjoy it!

PORTIONS: 3-4  /  TIME: 35 min

1 medium sized butternut squash
5 medium tomatoes
1 large red bell pepper (orange or yellow will work as well)
2 brown onions
1 small red onion
3 garlic cloves
0,8 l water
1 tbsp vegetable stock powder
1 tsp smoked paprika (more if you are using a milder or sweet paprika powder)
A pinch of hot chilli flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil
Lemon wedges and toasted seeds for serving

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius.

Quarter your tomatoes and cut the pepper into long inch wide strips and place on an oven tray. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and black pepper, mix and place in the oven for roughly 25 min. Make sure to give the veggies a flip halfway through.

In the mean time chop onions and garlic roughly. Place a large sauce pan over low heat, add a splash of olive oil and sweat the onions under lid .

Whilst the onions are sweating peel the butternut squash, removing the seeds and then cutting it into half inch wide chunks. When the onion is transparent and fragrant add the squash as well as the water, stock powder and spices to the pan and bring to a boil.

Once boiling turn down to medium heat letting it boil gently for roughly 15 min or until the butternut is soft. Then remove tomatoes and peppers from oven and simply poor them into the pot along with all the juices from the pan.

Blitz the soup with a hand blender until smooth and serve with your favourite soup toppings or plain. I like seeds and a drizzle of lemon juice.

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