Spiced lentil & butternut squash soup

 Cook a big batch of this filling spiced lentil and squash soup and freeze the leftovers for a speedy supper another day. It's healthy and low in fat.

Ingredients

    2 tbsp olive oil

    2 onions, finely chopped

    2 garlic cloves, crushed

    ¼ tsp hot chilli powder

    1 tbsp ras el hanout

    1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces

    100g red lentils

    1l hot vegetable stock

    1 small bunch coriander, leaves chopped, plus extra to serve

    dukkah (see tip) and natural yogurt, to serve

Method

    STEP 1

    Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish or saucepan over a medium-high heat. Fry the onions with a pinch of salt for 7 mins, or until softened and just caramelised. Add the garlic, chilli and ras el hanout, and cook for 1 min more.

    STEP 2

    Stir in the squash and lentils. Pour over the stock and season to taste. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, covered, for 25 mins or until the squash is soft. Blitz the soup with a stick blender until smooth, then season to taste. To freeze, leave to cool completely and transfer to large freezerproof bags.

    STEP 3

    Stir in the coriander leaves and ladle the soup into bowls. Serve topped with the dukkah, yogurt and extra coriander leaves.

By Esther Clark