Winter Warmer Butternut Squash & Turkey Soup

Now the days are getting a little colder, salad just isn’t cutting it for me come lunchtime. So bored of the standard sweet potato and butternut squash soup I usually make, I decided to look for something new – not that new as it happens but sufficiently different to satisfy! This butternut and squash soup recipe is largely based on one of the same name in the Gourmet Nutrition Cookbook by Precision Nutrition – with a few minor tweaks.

Soup base ingredients:

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• Coconut oil (or olive oil but coconut tastes better )
• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and chopped into chunks
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• Water
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

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Soup garnish:

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• 600g minced turkey (this is one pack in M&S)
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil

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Method:

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• Soup base: pre-heat a large saucepan and melt some coconut oil (about a tablespoon)
• Add the chopped butternut squash and saute until lightly browned
• Add the onion, ginger, garlic, cumin, ginger, a cupful of water and saute for two minutes, stirring all the time
• Add enough water to cover the vegetables – plus a bit more and bring to the boil
• Reduce the heat and simmer until the squash is cooked (about 15-20 mins)
• Whilst the soup is cooking, prepare your turkey garnish
• Let the soup cool slightly before blending (add a little more water to adjust the thickness and make it even silkier)
• Turkey garnish: season the turkey with salt and pepper
• Pre-heat a large frying pan and add some olive oil
• Saute the turkey in small batches so it doesn’t boil but gets lightly browned and completely cooked
• Put your soup in a bowl and add some of the turkey
• If you want to store some for the next day, portion into storage containers with the turkey and make sure it’s warmed through thoroughly before eating – avoid boiling it or the turkey will go tough.

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Serves 4-6 depending on how hungry you are!