Roast your vegetables in honey before blitzing into this velvety smooth, spiced soup - served with garlicky, zesty ciabatta slices for dipping.
-Ingredients
For the soup
500g sweet potatoes
, peeled and diced
1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and diced
1 tbsp clear honey
1 tbsp olive oil
, plus a drizzle
2 onions
, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1l vegetable or chicken stock
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp grated nutmeg
100ml double cream
For the toast
1 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
100g butter
, at room temperature
zest 1 lemon
2 tbsp snipped chives
1 tbsp chopped thyme
2 ciabatta loaves, cut into slices
-Method
Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Put the sweet potato and butternut squash on a baking tray and add the honey and a drizzle of olive oil. Roast for 40-45 mins until soft and starting to caramelize at the edges, stirring occasionally.
-Meanwhile, fry the onions in 1 tbsp olive oil until soft, then add the garlic, chicken stock, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Bring to the boil, and simmer for 5 mins.
-Remove the sweet potatoes and butternut squash from the oven and add to the pan with the stock. Blend everything until smooth using a stick blender. Stir in most of the cream and bring back to a gentle simmer, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
-To make the lemon & garlic toasts, gently warm the olive oil and garlic in a pan over a low heat for a few mins; the garlic should be softened but not browned. Remove from the heat and mix in the butter and lemon zest until smooth. Leave to cool, then stir in the chives and thyme.
-Toast the ciabatta slices, and top each with a spoonful of garlic butter. Serve with the soup, drizzled with the remaining cream, and some black pepper.