Recipe: Simple Spiced Squash Soup with Chickpea Croutons

This is my favourite way to use up any kind of squash (butternut, crown prince and kobocha are my usual go-to) and you can freeze it in batches for another day.

It uses Ras El Hanout – a spice mix found in varying forms in Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. Commonly used ingredients include cardamom, cumin, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, allspice, dry ginger, chili peppers, coriander seed, peppercorn, sweet and hot paprika, fenugreek, and dry turmeric – I buy mine at Exotica World Foods on Cowbridge Road. It has a warm, sweet taste which works really well with coconut.

The croutons are just chickpeas, roasted in spices until they are crispy. This recipe makes a whole batch of them – but you can pop them in the fridge and use them to top soups, salads and stews.

It’s all completely vegan, and honestly so easy.

Spiced Squash Soup Ingredients

• Any Squash (skin scrubbed, seeds removed, and cut into 2 inch chunks)
• 1 tbsp Ras El Hanout Spice Mix
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil or Rapeseed Oil
• 200ml Coconut Milk (use full-fat for a creamier, richer soup, and light for something thinner)
• 1 pint Vegetable Stock (from a stock cube is fine)
• 1 tsp Chilli Flakes
• 2 tsp Roasted Curry Powder

For the chickpeas

• 1 tin Chickpeas (drained)
• 1 tsp Ground Coriander
• 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 1 tsp Ground Cumin
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil or Rapeseed Oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Method

• In a large roasting tray, add the squash chunks, drizzle with oil, and sprinkle over the Ras El Hanout spice mix. Mix everything together.
• Pop the squash into a hot oven (200c) for 30 – 40 minutes, until the flesh is soft and the skin has blistered and coloured.
• In another tray, combine the chickpeas, oil and spices and give everything a shake; make sure each one is coated in spice and oil.
• Pop the chickpeas into the same oven, but take then out after about 25 mins, or once they are crisp, but not burnt.
• When the pumpkin is done, add it to a food processor with the coconut milk, stock, chilli flakes, and roasted curry powder, and blend until smooth. Alternatively you can use a stick blender (this is what I do).
• Heat in a saucepan, and when serving, add the roasted chickpeas and sprinkle with a few extra chilli flakes.

(PS. Don’t forget to save your pumpkin seeds from the food waste bin – you can use them to make these!)