Besides for the extremely cold mornings and struggling to get out of bed, the three things I love most about winter are fluffy coats, curries/stews and soup. The opportunities are endless when it comes to making delicious soups. I was dying for a slightly spicy soup so I added some cumin and curry powder but you can leave out the spices for a plainer soup. Adding apple to your soup gives it a natural sweetness, and, in my opinion makes it 100 times more tasty. This soup freezes beautifully.

Although it takes 2 hours to make, you can literally leave it on the stove and carry on with other things. This is the perfect soup to serve at a dinner party; hassle free and your guests will definitely ask for the recipe 😉

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INGREDIENTS

150g unsalted butter
100 ml olive oil
1 punnet baby leeks, sliced
4 sticks celery sliced
2 large Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and sliced
500g butternut chunks
4 carrots, peeled and grated
500g orange sweet potato, peeled and chunked
A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1.5 tsp Ground cumin
2-3 tsp Curry powder according to taste
2 litres chicken or vegetable stock

To serve:

Full cream yogurt
Parsley or coriander, chopped
Paprika

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METHOD
Serves 5-6
Preparation 15 minutes
Cooking time 2 hours

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Place a large pot on high heat and melt butter and olive oil.

When the butter starts foaming add celery. and sauté until soft. Then add the apple and sauté on high heat until apple caramelises slightly. Don’t burn!! Turn down the heat and add curry powder, cumin and ground nutmeg. You might have to add more oil and butter at this stage. Allow to fry gently for 5 minutes to release flavours.

Then add the rest of the vegetables and stir to coat with the curry mixture.

Dissolve stock in boiling water and add to veggies. Bring to the boil then simmer for at least 2 hours until all veggies are beautifully soft.

Using a blender or a hand blender mix until completely smooth and velvety.

Serve with a healthy dollop of thick cream or Greek yoghurt, a sprinkle of chopped coriander/ parsley and a sprinkle of paprika.