Today is National Soup Day – what a fortuitous occasion because I made this soup and now I can share the recipe with you – as one is supposed to do on National Soup Day! 🙂

This recipe was actually inspired by Reuben Riffel – and was one of the delicious soups I got to try at the Avondale and Chef Reuben Riffel Winter Warmer Pairing launch. (This is also an excellent outing option for the Winter months ahead.) Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to ply the recipe from Reuben, so I made this up, all on my own  😉

Chai-Spiced Butternut Soup with Crispy Onion Bits and Toasted Chai Seeds

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1Tbs coconut oil or any other oil of your choice
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1kg butternut, diced (butternut is actually not recommended by many on the Candida diet as it has a high sugar content – you may replaced this with pumpkin. To make this recipe Banting, use pumpkin)
• 1 litre water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 Chai teabags (I used Yogi Chai)
• 2 cardamom pods
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• Salt to taste
• 200ml – 300ml coconut milk (reserve some for garnish)
• Toasted Chai seeds for garnish (optional)
• Crispy onion bits for garnish (optional)

Preparation:

• Fry onion in a large pot until translucent
• Add diced butternut to the onion and cover with water
• Throw in the cinnamon stick, teabag and spices
• Bring to the boil
• Simmer on low heat for about 45mins to an hour until the butternut has become soft and puree-like – this is a slow process and must be filled with love 🙂
• Add salt during this stage and keep tasting as the flavours develop
• Blend soup until smooth (in a blender or with a handheld mixer)
• Return soup to pot and stir in the coconut milk, slowly, you don’t want to overpower the gentle spicy flavours that are in the soup – tasting as you go until you are happy with the flavour
• Toast some Chai seeds for a few seconds (you can find these at a health shop)
• Make some crispy onion bits by baking in a low oven until golden and crisp
• Serve the soup with a flourish of reserved coconut milk and a sprinkle of Chai seeds and crispy onion bits

Slurp up and enjoy! (preferably by a fireplace – that would be heaven!)

On a side note, Denny, the soup company, will donate 40c worth of soup for each Denny Soup sold during the month of June 2013, to FoodBank SA. FoodBank South Africa distributes food to more than 1000 NGOs throughout the country, ensuring that the donated food reaches the families and children who need it most. Let’s help do our part for the less fortunate this Winter.