Recipes that make me happy - 2

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

large butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into big chunks
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced thinly
6 oz green lentils, washed
1 tblsp Garam Masala (look for this on the spice shelf in the supermarket)
Olive oil
Vegetable oil
Black pepper
Garlic salt
Salt

Preheat the oven to 400F (200C). Place butternut squash on a cookie (baking) sheet and drizzle olive oil over the pieces. Grind black pepper over the top and sprinkle with garlic salt (this can be the only salt in the recipe if you like). Rub the oil and seasoning all over the chunks until well covered and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes or until tender (when you put a knife in there is little or no resistance).

Place the washed lentils into a saucepan and cover with water so that there is about twice the amount of water to lentils. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes, adding a little boiling water if it starts to run dry, until the lentils are tender (place one between your fingers and gently squish it. It should squish easily). Drain.

Whilst the lentils and butternut squash are cooking, heat about 4 tbsps of vegetable oil in a frying pan and gently fry the onions. Allow the onions to fry slowly as you want them to caramelise (turn the sugars in the onions into sweet caramel) not burn. You may need to keep them moving with a spatula to make sure they cook on all sides.

Get a big soup pot and drain the oil from the butternut squash and the onions into the bottom. Add the Garam Masala and heat it gently, until you can smell the fragrant spices. Add the rest of the ingredients and 'wash out' (use a little cold water to rinse the flavours out) the cooking pans into the soup pot. Add about 3 more pints of water. Use a handheld food processor and puree (you can use a ordinary food processor, it just takes longer). Bring to the boil and turn down to a very gentle simmer (simmering is usually a medium heat; it's where the pan bubbles gently, seeing one of two small bubbles every second). Add salt to taste.

Serve with chunks of your favourite bread.