Butternut soup with crispy sage & apple croutons

• olive oil↗1 tbsp tbsp
• large onion↗1

  chopped

• garlic clove↗1

  chopped

• butternut squash↗1

  about 1kg, peeled, deseeded and chopped

• madeira↗3 tbsp tbsp

  or dry Sherry

• gluten-free vegetable stock↗500ml ml

  plus a little extra if necessary

• chopped sage1 tsp tsp

  plus 20 small leaves, cleaned and dried

• sunflower oil↗

  for frying

• olive oil↗1 tbsp tbsp
• large eating apple1

  peeled, cored and diced

• golden caster sugar↗a few pinches of

  a few pinches of

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and fry for 5 mins. Add the garlic and squash, and cook for 5 mins more. Pour in the Madeira and stock, stir in the chopped sage, then cover and simmer for 20 mins until the squash is tender.

2. 2

   Blitz with a hand blender or in a food processor until completely smooth. Allow to cool in the pan, then chill until ready to serve. Will keep for 2 days or freeze for 3 months. To make the crispy sage, heat some oil (a depth of about 2cm) in a small pan, then drop in the sage leaves until they are crisp – you will need to do this in batches. Drain on kitchen paper. Will keep for several hours.

3. 3

   Just before serving, reheat the soup in a pan. The texture should be quite thick and velvety, but thin it with a little stock if it is too thick.

4. 4

   For the apple croutons, heat the oil in a large pan, add the apple and fry until starting to soften. Sprinkle with the sugar and stir until lightly caramelised.

5. 5

   To serve, ladle the soup into small bowls and top with the apple, sage and a grinding of black pepper.