Moroccan Style Butternut Squash Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Large white onion chopped

2 Carrots chopped into small chunks

1 Butternut Squash chopped into larger chunks

1 sweet potato peeled and chopped

1 tbsp Rose harissa

1/4 Preserved lemon

1 litre Vegetable stock

Topping

1 Lemon juice and zest

1 Red onion

4 tbsp Extra virgin olive or Avocado oil

1 tbsp Nigella seeds

1 tbsp Chopped dreid apricots

1 tbsp Raisins

2 tbsp Flaked almonds

100g Chickpeas tinned

300g Cooked chicken

2 tbsp Fresh mint chopped

1/4 Preserved lemon

Salt and pepper

Here’s how

Pre heat a large shallow pan with a splash of olive oil.

Add the chopped onions and season with a little salt to help draw out the moisture, then season with a little black pepper.

Peel and chop the carrots before adding to the pan with the diced sweet potato and chunks of butternut squash.

Cook the vegetables for 5 minutes and get all the flavours going.

Add the harissa paste and the first 1/4 of a washed pre served lemon.(if you have not got preserved lemon use the zest and juice of 1 lemon)

Continue to cook the vegetables for a further 5-10 minutes

Pour in the vegetable stock and turn the heat up to a boil.

Simmer the soup for 20 minutes or until the squash is soft.

To make the topping, zest the lemon into a medium sized bowl, then squeeze out the juice into the bowl as well.

Peel and chop the red onion before adding into the lemon juice, this will pickle the onion a little and make it nice and tangy.

Scatter in the nigella seeds in along with a teaspoon of the harissa paste.

Pour in the oil and stir together.

Sprinkle in the dried fruit and almonds.

Add the drained chickpeas followed by the chicken if you are using it.

Finally add the fresh mint and chopped preserved lemon.

Stir all the ingredients together and put to one side, until the soup is ready.

When the squash if soft in the soup blend until smooth and taste for seasoning.

Serve up the soup and top with your Moroccan style salsa.