Irish Root Vegetable and Squash Soup

By Maudie30

This is the most wonderful soup I have ever tasted. I had it in Ireland and had to bring the recipe home.

Serve with brown bread.

Ingredients

• 1 large onion chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
• 2 sticks celery, chopped
• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 butternut or similar squash, peeled and chopped
• 2.5 oz orange lentils, rinsed under running cold water
• 1 oz grams butter
• 2 pts vegetable stock
• 1/2 red chili, de-seeded and chopped
• 1 inch piece fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons cream

Preparation

Step 1

On a low heat, cook the onions in the butter in a large heavy bottom saucepan until they have started to soften and turn opaque in color, about 8–10 minutes.

Add the vegetables, along with the chili and ginger, and cover with the stock, (you may need a little extra stock depending on the size and shape of your saucepan), ideally all your vegetables should be totally immersed with about 2 inches extra stock.

Simmer the soup until the vegetables are fully cooked. Then, immediately add the well-rinsed lentils, bringing back to a simmer and cooking for a further 8-10 minutes by which stage the lentils should have burst and are cooked.

Remove from the heat, add the freshly chopped thyme and liquidize until smooth, you may need to thin out with a little bit of extra stock, a couple of tablespoons of cream is also a lovely addition for a slightly richer texture and flavor.