The soup season has arrived. I make this for 3 or 4 days and save myself the cooking. It can also be frozen if you wish. Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes.

Ingredients (serves 4 people)

• 1 large white onion finely chopped
• 1 butternut squash peeled and chopped into small cubes
• 3-4 large carrots chopped into small pieces
• 1 lemon (the juice)
• 2 tbsp. of olive oil
• 1 vegetable stock cube (bouillon)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Gently heat the olive oil in a pot and fry the onions until they soften and begin to become translucent.
2. Add the carrots and the butternut squash to the pot and enough boiling water to cover all the vegetables (you can add as much or as little as you want  depending on how thick or thin you like your soup at the end).
3. Add the vegetable stock cube, stir well and leave to boil for approx 15 mins.
4. Once the carrots and butternut suash cubes are tender, remove from the heat and add the lemon juice, salt and pepper.
5. Place the entire contents of the pot into a large bowl and use your hand held blender to blend the contents. If you like your soup lumpy then blend it only a little. If you like your soup thick but well blended then continue blending until smooth.Add more water at this stage if needed.
6. Add more salt and pepper if required.