Hello friends!

Autumn has swept in and brought a chill to the air and vegetables to eat, which is the perfect excuse to knock up a batch of soup.

Nothing is quite as good a feeling as leisurely cooking in the kitchen on a sunny cold Sunday afternoon and warming bellies with a hearty meal.

I love pumpkins and squashes and get excited when I find a different variety than what we get in the supermarkets. I found these lovely onion squashes on a market stall and had to try them!

Ever since I watched Valentine Warner and his ‘What to eat now, Autumn/Winter’ series, I feel an appreciation for pumpkins/squashes and the thought of his Dad’s soup recipe served in the pumpkin itself makes me hungry.

This recipe is originally for pumpkins, but I’ve swapped in my Onion Squash instead (I don’t think Val would complain).

Start by chopping your squashes and scooping out the middle like you would with a carving pumpkin. Then chop into bite sized pieces, this will make it easier to blitz later. Or if you are using the shell to serve, scrap out the flesh.

You could at this stage roast the squash if you have time, but that isn’t in the original recipe.

Very simple list of ingredients: pumpkin(or squash), onions, chicken/vegetable stock, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, salt and pepper and the special touch.. sherry.

Saute the chopped onions in some butter (could swap in oil if vegan) until softened.

Add in cinnamon (recipe specifies a stick, but who has a stick to hand? I used ground cinnamon), nutmeg, salt, pepper and squash. Cook until squash softens slightly.

Then add chicken/vegetable stock and cook until squash is tender.

Once tender, blitz with whatever you have available (hand blender, food processor etc.) I like my soup smooth, but if you like chunks you can leave some.

Add sherry just before serving and voila! Perfect for Autumnal or Winter days.

My squashes were too small to serve in, so it wasn’t 100% true to the recipe, sorry Val.

I hope you try it out. For the full recipe click here.