Vegetarian 5:2 Fast Diet Recipe: Moroccan Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

A quick look at my blog statistics and I can see that I haven’t written a post for nearly a month! First things first I have to apologise, I’m very sorry for neglecting my culinary duties. This month has been a procession of meals out, take-aways and parties. I’ve barely graced the kitchen with my presence, let alone spent time working on the 52 diet, be they fast or slow recipes.

September is always a month for revelry, it’s both mine and Ed’s birthday (and this year he was 30 so I made a bit of a fuss and organised a surprise party). September 2013 however was certainly a month to remember since I was offered a pupillage and Ed also surprised me with a trip to Marrakech where he descended on one knee to propose. It seems that we have been in a perpetual state of celebration (or its after-effects) for a month now and my waist line has certainly felt the brunt of it.

So, looking forward to October and with renewed determination to begin married life with a health body and mind I turn back to the 5:2 Fast Diet quite simply because it works… I just have to follow it!

In Cardiff it’s been a drizzly, dank, dark day and that means one thing in my book… warm and comforting… it is most definitely a soup day. My future mother-in-law gave us a bounty of vegetables from her allotment last week which included some rather beautiful squashes, so inspired by the flavours of Morocco I set about using my newly acquired sack of Ras El Hanout.

Vegetarian 5:2 Fast Diet Recipe: Moroccan Spiced Butternut Squash Soup with Harissa-Spiked Salsa - Only 136 calories for each hearty portion!

Makes 2 large bowls (or 4 small ones)

I really love Butternut Squash, it’s the perfect diet food in my humble opinion. It is wonderfully filling and hearty but without the calories that accompany a sweet potato or indeed a regular one.

For this soup you’ll need:

400g butternut squash (peeled, de-seeded and cut into chunks) (180)

80g onion (roughly chopped) (32)
5g garlic (roughly chopped) (7)
1 1/2 tsp ras el hanout (7)
1/4 tsp paprika (2)
1 tsp lemon juice (5)
600ml water (0)

It's all rather simple, just pop it all in a pan and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the squash is nice and soft. Whizz it up and check the seasoning.

For the salsa, collect:

I made this with cucumber from Viv's allotment and it was so sweet it was almost like a crunchy melon, so my rights melon would also work rather well with this dish too.

50g Tomato (9)

20g Onion (8)
100g Cucumber (16)
10g Coriander (2)
1 tsp Harissa Paste (more or less according to how spicy you want it to be) (5)

Roughly chop all the veg and toss with as much harissa as you want according to how much of a kick you're looking for.

Top the soup with the salsa and serve. If you have the spare calories at this point in the day then a slice of bread and butter isn't out of the question.

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@BCTinyKitchen