Tomato, courgette and sweet potato soup

Fresh, healthy homemade soup. What's not to like.....

I have probably said before that I am not a great fan of ready made soups and particularly those that come in packets and cans both for health and economy reasons, I tend to make most of the soup we eat from fresh vegetables and this recipe is no exception. Finding myself in the situation were I had a couple of courgettes and some tomatoes that were ageing fast, I thought I would combine them with butternut squash or sweet potato to make a wholesome soup, yet still summery.

A tasty easy recipe which would be a great way later in the season to use up glut tomatoes and courgettes if you have them, it looks like the recipe would freeze well but I haven't tried it.

What you need 

• A little vegetable oil
• Fresh or tinned tomatoes (don't worry about skins and pips as we are blending later)
• Onion
• Courgettes - topped tailed and sliced into half moons
• Butternut squash or sweet potato - peeled, de-seeded(if squash) and chopped into small chunks
• Vegetable stock
• Salt and pepper

What you do 

• Firstly prepare your vegetables
• Gently fry in the oil the onion until softened but not coloured
• Then add the courgette and butter nut / sweet potato to the pan
• Again cook until starting to softened
• Now add the tomatoes and stock to the pan
• Simmer until all the vegetables are soft
• Allow to cool slightly then blitz with a stick blender or in a liquidiser to desired consistency
• Bring back to a simmer and then taste and season
• Serve piping hot with crusty bread

We are linking up to Recipe of the Week over on A Mummy Too

                                                              

Meat Free Mondays over on Tinned Tomatoes

                                                       

Extra Veg hosted in turn by Fuss Free Flavours and Utterly Scrummy
                                                 
                                                     

No croutons required hosted this month at Lisa's Kitchen

                                                               

Spicy sweet potato, lentil and chipotle soup

Its starting to feel a little autumnal here in Lancashire so my thoughts as usual move from salads to soups, I love homemade soup and often knock up a soup for a weekend lunch using seasonal vegetables or something from the garden, luckily for us we were recently given a number of products from Some Like it Hot to try, so I thought the addition of chipotle sauce to a sweet potato soup would make an interesting addition.

This Chipotle sauce is made from Ancho chili for depth of flavour and Guajilla for the intense red colour they bring to the sauce and of course chipotle for the smoky notes. Its a delicious addition to the store cupboard and can be used in place of normal ketchup or as addition to many dishes, as well as this soup we have also tried it in a slow cooker BBQ ribs recipe, which frankly were amazing. In fact so much so that photography was planned for a post but they disappeared so quickly, we didn't take any of the shots !

What you need

• 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 large onion - peeled and finely sliced
• 2 handfuls red lentils
• Vegetable stock - I always use Essential Cuisine
• 1 tbsp or more (if you like it more spicy) Some Like it Hot Chipotle Sauce
• Additional water if required to thin soup to desired consistency
• A little rapeseed oil or butter
• Yogurt to serve

What you do

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan
• Add the onion and sweet potatoes to the pan and cook over a low heat until the onion is starting to soften slightly.
• Add the lentils to the pan, along with enough vegetable stock to cover the vegetables and simmer until the vegetable are softened and the lentils cooked.
• Add the chipotle sauce and blend with a stick blender until smooth, taste and season to taste
• Serve hot, swirled with yogurt and sprinkled with a little fresh coriander

Some like it hot is a sister brand to Fatjax chutneys, so you can purchase their sauces and rubs range were every you can pick up the Fatjax range, which is many quality outlets across the north west, plus at various farmers markets.

We are linking up to No Croutons required hosted alternatively by Tinned Tomatoes and Herbs and Spice, a vegetaerian blooging challenge for Soups and Salads.

And also My Legume Love affair (MLLA) over at Ammaji Kitchen

                           

Spicy sweet potato cake loaf

Another unusual bake using sweet potatoes to give the cake moisture and a soft tender crumb, the resultant cake is delicious, spicy and lovely served to accompany a coffee or tea. You could guild the lily by frosting or topping with a cream cheese topping but I love it just the way it is.  The other nice thing is the mixture actually makes 2 loaves so you have one to freeze / share or gift.This is based on a bake by the fabulous Averiecooks who has some amazing recipes, check out her blog !

 

Ingredients

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, chopped and microwaved until soft, then drain and allow to cool
• 2 free range eggs 
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil ( I like to use sunflower)
• 2 tbsp plain yoghurt
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 1 3/4 cups plain flour
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cups soft light brown sugar
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (level)
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon 
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp approx freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves

Method

• Preheat oven to 180c /325F 
• Oil spray a 2 x 2lb loaf tins or alternatively use a tin liner ( I get mine from the pound shop)
• Combine all the fry ingredients in a large bowl
• In another bowl combine all the wet ingredients
• Now combine the two bowls, gently combining fully ensuring everything is fully mixed
• Pour the batter into the two prepared tins, smoothing the tops level if necessary
• Place in the oven
• Bake for 60 - 70 minutes , until tested cooked with a skewer
• Its as simple as that !
• Cool in the tin for 10 minutes or so and then cool fully on a wire rack
• The loaf freezes wrapped and also keeps well wrapped in foil in a tin for up to a week if it lasts that long.

I took one of these loaves along to my regular Womens Institute meeting and it was very popular, so much so that I didn't get a slice :-(