You may be tired after a long day and want something filling to eat but not another stodgy pizza that’s going to make you feel like a beached whale later and have you trying to ‘be good’ tomorrow. It needs to be quick too. So how quick is this? It takes about 20 minutes all in so that’s fairly quick I would say and it’s not only delicious and nutritious it’s also incredibly tasty and filling. The ciabatta croutons are an optional extra that will add crunch and vary the texture but leave them out if you want to err on the side of super healthy.
By the way, I didn’t know what to call this soup and was going to call it a veggie soup but then chickpeas and kidney beans aren’t vegetables hence ‘legume’ which to me sounds a little bit pretentious (’twas far from a legume I was reared) but didn’t know what else to call it so there you go.
Roast Squash & Legume Soup
You will need:
1 butternut squash
2 tbsp rapeseed oil or olive oil
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
1 400g can plum tomatoes peeled
1 400g can chickpeas
1 400g can kidney beans
2 tsp herbes de Provence
500ml vegetable stock (from a cube is fine – low salt, organic if possible)
Flat leaf parsley
Ciabatta croutons (see below) – optional
Method:
Heat the fan oven to 180C / Gas Mark 6.
Peel and cut the butternut squash into chunks (click how to prepare butternut squash for prior post).
Roast the butternut squash chunks drizzled with 1 tbsp oil on a baking tray in the hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes until tender.
Meanwhile peel and chop the onion into smallish chunks.
Heat 1 tbsp oil over a low heat in medium/large-sized saucepan and then add the onion chunks and leave to soften for 5 minutes.
Peel and crush the garlic cloves and add to the onion to cook for a further 2 minutes.
Whizz the plum tomatoes in a mini chopper/ food processor or break up with a fork and add to the onion and garlic.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas and kidney beans and add to the saucepan along with the vegetable stock and the 2 tsp of herbes de Provence.
Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
Finely chop and stir in most of the flat leaf parsley, reserving some to garnish.
Add chunks of roast butternut squash and garnish with some ciabatta croutons and finely chopped parsley to serve.
Ciabatta croutons
You will need:
Day-old ciabatta
1 or 2 tbsp sunflower oil
Method:
Cut the ciabatta into bitesize chunks.
Heat the oil to medium/high in a frying pan and lightly brown the croutons on both sides.
Drain the croutons on kitchen paper to minimise oil content.
Enjoy.
Til next time, Sheila.
Roast Squash & Legume Soup with Ciabatta Croutons – Simple Supper
