Slimming World Butternut Squash Soup - Syn Free

Whenever I now eat anyone else's butternut squash soup, I am always disappointed.

A few years ago, I discovered Lorraine Pascale's 2nd cooking programme and loved how her enthusiasm which quickly brushed on to me.

So when her cookbook, Home Cooking Made Easy came out, I kept nipping over to Waterstones after work and would take a glance at her book and finally committed to buying it.

I ransacked my kitchen (and her book) and tried loads of recipes. Chocolate fudge, cheesecake, flavoured butters, peanut brittle; even her steamed Mars Bar sauce pudding and along with so many others.

In fact, here's my very dog eared copy where I've spilt many sauces and water on it that quite a few pages are now stuck together. But surely this is a good sign? I'm certainly proud as each recipe tells many a tale and so much so that when I attended the BBC Good Food Show at the Birmingham NEC for it to be signed.

I remember Lorraine saying with a big smile on her face, "Oh, you've USED it!" I did indeed. You can just about see the warped corners on the bottom right of the book.

TIPS FOR COOKING BUTTERNUT SQUASH

I've prepared butternut squash in every thinkable cooking method when making soup with it. But it really depends on how much time you have, but I find roasting it gives the richest results. However, here's some that you can do:

• Halve, deseed and score before roasting in the oven for 30 minutes (or until the flesh can be easily pricked with a fork).

• Place in the slow cook, left whole for 3-4 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low.

• Chop in to chunks, place in a microwaveable bowl and cover with clingfilm before heating for 10 minutes. (See images below).

MY FAVOURITE COOKING METHOD WITH NO PEELING NEEDED

Although, on this occasion, I microwaved, deep down my favourite cooking method is to place it in the slow cooker, whole. However, it's definitely not the quickest method is you need dinner on the table within the hour.

One of the main reasons I have a love hate relationship with the butternut is because its very tough skin. It can be is a pain in the bum, but microwaving is certainly quicker.

However, if you plan this recipe ahead and leave your slow cooker to do all the work, all you need to do is slice in half, remove the seeds and place the whole thing in a deep based pan or soup maker. No, this is not a typo; you don't even need to peel it as it's blends a charm and you won't even notice in the end result.

SOUP MAKER, PAN, MULTICOOKER OR SLOW COOKER?

The beauty about most of my soups is that they fit in my Morphy Richards Soup Maker as well as being able to cook it in a deep based pan, multicooker or slow cooker. No, soup makers definitely aren't essential because soup was invented well before this machine.

However, I simply love mine as it takes the babysitting out of cooking and blends for me, without having to use and clean a separate gadget. When I first got my soup maker though, I tried a few recipes dedicated for my machine and they tasted nothing as good as I was used to.

So I was determined to adapt the ones I loved for my soup maker, as well as being Slimming World friendly. However, you can cook the following methods:

• Cook in a multicooker for 8 minutes, then blend after finished

• Cook in a slow cooker (after you've microwaved the butternut and sauted the veg) on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours and blend

• Cook in a deep based pan (after you've microwaved the butternut and sauted the veg) and simmer for about 20 to 22 minutes until everything is tender and blend

• Place the butternut in a food processer after deseeding and place in the slow cooker, pan, multicooker or soup maker, along with the sauted veg and cook as above and blend

MAKE IT MORE FILLING BY ADDING PASTA

Without pasta, this syn free soup is lighter, but still delicious. However, if you're looking for a thicker soup, then why not try adding 60g of dried orzo? Not only does it add extra bulk to the soup, but it changes the viscosity as you can see on my spoon below. For my soup maker, I cook my soup on the 'smooth' setting. Then once it has finished, I add 60g of dried orzo, then set my machine to cook on 'chunky'.

If you are cooking with in any other method, just add the orzo once your soup has cooked, and simmer while stiring until it is tender. This usually takes abut 10 minutes; roughly the same length as regular pasta.

WHAT IS ORZO?

Orzo is a syn free dried pasta that comes in a similar shape and size to grains of rice. It's also great for a cheat's risotto too.

CAN I FREEZE MY LEFTOVERS?

Yes, I've frozen many of my soups, including this one. I store mine in individual Sistema soup mugs, so I can easily divide my portions and pop them straight in to microwave like a ready meal.

It's a good idea to label your soups as I've often forgot what I've frozen and keep it for up to 1 month. As for the fridge, I store mine for around 5 days at the most, then heat it through before serving.

SYNS INFO

At the time of publication, the syn information were accurate using their Food search and syns calculator. However, if in doubt, always ask your consultant, or call the Slimming World Syns Hotline: 09068 518 518. Syn information can sometimes change to ensure they protect your weight loss.