Hello lovely Steemies!

As usual I ate too much at Christmas, and throughout January I've been like a human hoover, consuming all the chocolate in the house....just to get rid of it of course ;)

So here comes February tomorrow and a clean slate! It's my best friend's 30th birthday in April and I want to look fab for the party, so healthy living reigns until then.

Being a chef I hate dieting, and working in a professional kitchen surrounded by butter and cream makes that virtually impossible anyway!

The only way I can ensure I eat well is to include plenty of fruit and vegetables in my diet and a really simple, delicious and healthy supper is, for me, a hearty bowl of homemade soup.

This is one of my favourites: Butternut squash. It's such a versatile vegetable and its silky texture lends itself to soups. The coriander pesto on top gives it a little extra "va va voom".

Coriander is my favourite herb, and this pesto can be used whenever you might ordinarily use basil pesto. It's strong, aromatic and de-licious! I've used almonds in mine, but walnuts or pine nuts are equally good.

Try to make the pesto last minute so that it doesn't lose any of its gorgeous vibrant green colour.

Here's what you'll need:

Butternut Squash Soup:

1 onion

1 butternut squash (600g approx)

600ml vegetable or chicken stock

A knob of butter

A few sprigs of thyme

Coriander Pesto:

2 bunches of coriander

1 garlic clove, peeled

20g parmesan cheese, or grana padano, grated

50 g blanched almonds

A glug of mild olive oil

1. For the soup, chop the onion, and peel, de-seed and roughly chop the butternut squash.

2. Melt the butter in a large pan and add the onions. Sweat over a gentle heat until the onions are soft and translucent.

3. Add the butternut squash and cook for 5 minutes.

4. Add the sprigs of thyme and the stock.

5. Bring up to the boil, and then turn down the heat to a gentle simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until the butternut squash is tender. You want it to blend easily!

6. Remove from the heat and discard the thyme sprigs. Carefully blend it until smooth with either a hand-held device or in a blender. If the soup is too thick, add more stock or a little water and blend again. Season to taste.

7. Pour back into your pan while you prepare the pesto.

8. For the pesto, add the coriander, garlic clove, cheese and almonds to a small mixer, and blend until everything is finely chopped.

9. Add in a tablespoon of olive oil and mix again. Add more oil, a bit at a time, until you've achieved a rough consistency.

10. Add salt to taste.

11. Warm up your soup before pouring into a warm bowl. Dollop a generous portion of the pesto on top and voila! Cosy up beside the fire and pat yourself on the back for being healthy AND a kitchen god/goddess!

I hope you've enjoyed today's recipe. See you soon Steemies! XXX

littlejiblet