Butternut squash, coconut and ginger soup

This is one of our most requested recipes, which I'm both pleased and pleasantly surprised by, given that squash tends to be a 'love it or hate it' vegetable for a lot of people. For the record, I'm not generally keen on them, but I do love this soup!

Ingredients:

• 1kg butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes
• Olive or vegetable oil
• Half a bunch of fresh coriander, with the stalks if you can get them
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 4cm piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped or grated
• 1 red chilli, deseeded, or not if you want it hotter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 500ml vegetable or chicken stock
• 400ml coconut cream
• Juice of 1 lime

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, chilli and ginger. Add the chopped coriander stalks here if you have any.

Heat gently until the onion is soft. Then add your butternut squash pieces and stir-fry them for a minute or so, making sure they don't stick.

Add the stock and coconut cream, and bring to the boil. Then turn down to a simmer, and cook for about 20 minutes to half an hour. The butternut squash pieces should be cooked through and slightly falling apart.

Add the lime juice, salt and pepper to taste, and the coriander leaves just before serving. You can blend the soup for a smooth consistency, or use a potato masher to get a thicker consistency with some lumps of butternut squash still intact. We like to go for about half and half.