A deliciously smooth soup with a hint of spice and the creamy texture of coconut milk. I always think its amazing how few ingredients combined together can taste so amazing. All to often we add more and more thinking it will help the flavour when really a case of less is more often wins the day. I’m a big fan of recipes that don’t take too long to prepare and don’t have an ingredients list the length of your arm! I whizzed up a batch of this when some friends popped round and the temperature was still mild enough to stand in the garden with the help of a fire pit to gather around! Served in cups, everyone could sip the soup and keep warm inside and out! It went down so well that I made it for the family a few nights later and wrote the recipe up! Perfect for lunch or supper and if there’s any left it also freezes really well. This makes enough for 4-6 servings.

25g coconut oil

100g onion, finely chopped

350g carrots

2 garlic cloves, crushed

about 900g butternut squash

2tsp curry powder (see note below)

2tsp marigold Swiss vegetable (vegan) bouillon powder

salt and pepper

200ml coconut milk

Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan and cook the onion over a medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes or until beginning to soften and turn golden brown.

Whilst the onions cook, peel and quarter the carrots lengthways and chop into small pieces. Add to the onions with the crush garlic and cook for a further 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, peel, deseed and cut the butternut squash into small chunks, add to the onions and carrots and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taking the time to cook the vegetables here helps to bring out all the delicious sweet flavours.

Add the curry powder and cook with the vegetables before adding the stock powder with 11/2pints water and plenty of seasoning. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.

Puree the soup with a stick blender. Add the coconut milk and continue to blend until the soup becomes smooth and creamy. If you’re using a blender, add the coconut milk after you’ve blended the soup.

Reheat the soup, check the seasoning and serve in cups, mugs or bowls with a drizzle of coconut milk and a sprinkling of black pepper.

Use any left over coconut milk in a morning smoothie!

I used Daylesford Curry Powder in this recipe which smells and tastes amazing. It contains a delicious blend of cumin, coriander, onion, turmeric, garlic, fenugreek, ginger, yellow mustard, black pepper, chilli, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. I would highly recommend trying this as its so good, but unfortunately you can only get it in Daylesford farmshops or order it from Ocado. If you can’t find it try using Barts Medium Curry Powder instead.