Butternut Squash and butterbean soup - vampire fighting and frightfully good !

There is definitely and nip in the air, so soup is in order. A delicious tasty recipe perfect for warming your bones after a night out trick a treating  and also an ideal recipe for using pumpkin middle just substitute for the butternut squash in the recipe, no waste here ! This soup also improves with keeping, ideal for popping in the fridge and for taking to work the next day to be re-heated.

Containing lots of lovely vampire fighting garlic (also bug fighting too ! as the cold and flu season is now with us), add just a touch of chilli for a thrill !

What you need

• Butternut squash - 1 large , peeled and de-seeded and chopped into 1 cm pieces
• 1 white onion - finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic - peeled and crushed
• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 1/2 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 1 small red chilli - finely chopped (optional)
• 1 can butterbeans - drained (retain juice if you want to use as Aquafaba)
• 1 large sprig fresh rosemary - leaves picked
• 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 500ml vegetable stock

What you do

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan
• Add the onion and cooked for a few minutes until softened
• Add the cubed squash, crushed garlic, chilli and rosemary, cook stirring for a few minutes
• Add the stock, maple syrup and lemon juice, bring to a simmer and cook until the onion and squash are soft
• Add the sherry vinegar and butter beans and bring back to a simmer
• Cool slightly and then blitz with a stick blender or in a a liquidizer to the desired texture.
• Bring back to a simmer and serve piping hot
• Delicious sprinkled with rosemary.

We are linking up to recipe of the week over at A Mummy Too. 

                                                         

Cook once Eat Twice - over on Searching for Spice

                                                       

No Croutons Required - co hosted by Lisa's Kitchen and Tinned Tomatoes

                                                               

No Waste Food Challenge, created by Elizabeths Kitchen and hosted this month by Veggie Desserts.

                                                        

Legume Love Affair hosted by Lisa's Kitchen, created by The Well Seasoned Cook.

                                                          

And finally Credit Crunch Munch from Fab Food for All and Fuss Free Flavours.

                                          

Lamb and Butter bean casserole

The season of stews and casseroles is now well established and more and more I am craving comfort food , you can't beat that smug satisfied feeling of walking through the door after a busy day at work to be greeted by the aroma of a wholesome stew or casserole ready in the slow cooker. Lamb is one of my favourite meats as it reared so well locally , the butter beans are  to provide a lovely nutritious plumper to the casserole.

If you don't have a slow cooker don't despair this casserole also cooks beautifully in the oven too in about 2 1/2 hours, so its just a case of planning ahead a bit.

Ingredients

• Diced casserole lamb - ask your butcher for whats best value
• Butter beans - either a drained tin, or  dried and soak your own overnight until plump
• 1/2 a can or bottle of beer - I used Murphy's stout but  a mild is nice too, or even a local brown ale, just watch the sweetness of the resulting sauce
• Stock - lamb or vegetable, I used E cuisines - vegetable - 150mls approx
• 2 sticks of celery - chopped
• Tin of chopped tomatoes
• Onion - peeled , sliced and roughly chopped
• Garlic - couple of cloves- crushed
• Parsley - fresh or dried
• Thyme - fresh or dried
• Bay leaf
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Sunflower oil

Method

• Heat a little oil in a large frying pan
• Fry off the diced lamb until it is well coloured, drain and remove from pan to your waiting slow cooker. If you are using a slow cooker your  ovenproof casserole dish.
• In the same pan, now add the celery, onion and garlic and cook until softened, again add to your slow cooker or dish.
• Now de-glaze the pan with your beer, tomatoes and stock , bring this to a gentle simmer and add all the other ingredients to the pan, except for the butter beans.
• Pour this into your slow cooker or oven proof dish, add the butter beans and stir to mix together.
• Cook on high in to your slow cooker for approx 6 hours ( could be longer) or if using a conventional oven for approximately 2 1/2 hours on 150C fan
• Your casserole is ready when the lamb is melting tender and the beans soft and yielding.
• If using a regular oven you may need to add more stock if the casserole becomes a little dry
• Serve accompanied by some great bread and green vegetables.