Butternut squash soup with cheese toasties

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 kg butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
1.2l stock
4 fresh thyme sprigs
200g crème fraîche
50g butter
8 slices white bread
200g Gruyère cheese, grated
1 tbsp snipped fresh chives
salt
pepper

Method
Heat the oil in a large pan. Cook the onions, garlic and butternut squash over a gentle heat for 10 minutes until the onions have softened but not coloured, stirring occasionally.
Pour in the stock and add the thyme. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 25 minutes, until the butternut squash is tender.
To make the cheese toasties, butter the bread and arrange the cheese over half of the slices, buttered side down. Sprinkle over the chives and cover with the remaining slices, buttered side up.
Preheat a griddle or large non-stick frying pan and cook the sandwiches two at a time for two minutes on each side, until golden brown and the cheese has melted.
Cut into fingers and keep hot.
Remove the thyme stalks from the soup, then purèe the soup with a hand blender until smooth.
Stir in the crème fraîche and reheat gently.
Season to taste. Serve in a warm bowl with the cheese toasties stacked on the side.
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