On the seeds
Sometimes on occasion I have not gotten great seeds from the squash I’ve used, in which case don’t use them. You can use pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, any sort of seeds you might have in the cupboard or just stick with the crunchy chickpeas. It’s just if you do get good seeds in the pumpkin - my point is don’t waste them!

I normally do these crispy roasted chickpeas in the oven which if you find that easier, by all means do that too. Pat them dry, pop on a roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and a little paprika and roast for 10 mins or so until crunchy. AMAZING in salads, or just as a snack with a glass of wine.

Coconut milk
Full fat only please - the reduced fat stuff is just water and not what we want or need here. This recipe only calls for half a tin - so make sure you stir it well so you don’t just get the watery bit, you want the thick coconutty bit too. Remember that coconut milk freezes really well so you can pour the rest of the tin into ice cube trays and then use them for smoothies, Dahls, soups and curries.

Balance of flavour
I do find butternut squash very sweet, or they can be, so it’s important to keep tasting and adjust the seasoning as you see fit especially with the carrots in this too. A good pinch of Maldon should do the trick, or a little more coconut milk, a squeeze of lime? Keep tasting and adjust, it’s all a learning process and everytime the ingredients will be a little different. But when you get it spot on? Ooof it’s so good.

But Margie I hate celery!
Okay okay I know a lot of people hate celery, but honestly I think that’s raw uncooked celery? Cooked celery is hard to hate and it does make a lovely base for this soup but if you really can’t stomach it? Leave it out! Either just leave it out, or swap for a few leeks.

To weigh or not to weigh that is the question
Right you know by now I don’t want you getting out the scales and weighing every ingredient - so much of cooking is about eyeballing it and getting comfortable with that. So when I say 400g butternut squash, I really mean, one small one but they come in all shapes and sizes so I thought a measurement might be useful. If you do go heavy on the squash and use way more than expected, it’s no big deal you just up the amount of liquid you add. And all will be okay.

Garlic bread croutons
These are v v good. You will need:

sourdough bread, half a loaf

20g of unsalted butter, very soft butter

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tbsp of fresh parsley, finely chopped

40g of Parmesan

15ml of olive oil

Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C

To make the croutons, tear up the sourdough into small pieces and set aside

sourdough bread, half a loaf

Combine the olive oil, garlic, butter, parsley and pepper together in a bowl and mix well. Add the sourdough pieces to the bowl and use your hands to coat them in the mix

Spread the croutons out on a large baking tray. Toast in the oven for 8 minutes until golden brown, then remove from the oven and sprinkle over the Parmesan. Delicious scattered over pasta, soups or salad