Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup with Chilli and Sage

A very Happy (almost) New Year to you all!
I know, I know - we still have roughly 10 hours until 2014 is officially upon us, but it's always better to be early than late, right?


A new year inevitably means new years resolutions, though I have always been strangely against them. My thinking being that if you really want to change something in your life, can't you choose to do it at any time? Whether it be to get fit, eat healthier, work less or simply take more time for your self and to do the things you love; we shouldn't rely on the turn of a clock to dictate these changes but go out and do them ourselves! 

Saying that, recently I've lapsed again in my blogging and am now going to make a huuuggee effort to get back on track - cook more, write more and (not to quote myself) but do what I love to do!
The last few months have been swallowed up by I don't even know what and then Christmas came round and so did the influx of family members from far and wide, a lot of food and not much time for anything else, let alone my little blog. Annie has been very full as of late.

But now I'm at the stage where I'm getting bored of turkey leftovers and possibly starting to regret eating quite so much brie…so here's something different. It's still wintery and warming, comforting in this horrific weather, but thankfully free from wheat, dairy and meat. With the added benefit of lots of chilli to sort out any post Christmas colds, and packed full of sage - my favourite winter herb - this will sort out any post Christmas blues and ensure your new years start off right.

Enjoy! (you won't regret it)

Vegan, Dairy/Lactose Free, Gluten/Wheat Free

Ingredients:
1 Red Chilli
Handful fresh Sage Leaves
1 White Onion
1 Butternut Squash
2 Sweet Potatoes
1 Fennel Bulb
2 pints Vegetable Stock
2 tsp Chili Powder
Salt and Pepper, to taste

To Make:

• Peel the butternut squash, cut in half and scoop out of the seeds and gunk. 
• Peel the sweet potato and trim the fennel, then chop all the veg so they're all roughly 2cm cubes. 

• Set aside.
• Finely chop the onion, chilli and sage and set aside.
• Pour some olive oil into a large saucepan over a low-medium heat.
• Crush the garlic and this the chopped onion, chilli and sage all the pan.

• Saute for about 5 minutes until the onion is softened.
• Add the squash, sweet potato and fennel to the pan and fry altogether for about another 10 minutes. The veg should give a little when pressed with a wooden spoon.
• Pour in the vegetable stock.
• Cover with a lid and bring to the boil.
• Now, reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
• Once the soup is cooked, allow it to cool slightly.
• Use a hand held immersion blender, food processor or stand alone blender and blitz until smooth.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste, add a little extra chili powder is desired and heat through again so it is hot enough to serve.