Recipe: Butternut squash, sage & chestnut soup with meatballs & parmesan

This is how I make a warming soup into a hearty, satisfying meal!

Ingredients - Serves 2 hungry people

1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into large chunks

1 white onion, peeled and roughly chopped

2 sticks of celery, roughly chopped

70g unsmoked pancetta

1 bag merchant gourmet chestnuts

200g (ish) of shop-bought meatballs, these are the venison ones from Waitrose

1/4 cup ground almonds

2 tbsp chopped fresh sage

1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

2 tsp garlic granules or fresh garlic

Olive oil, salt and pepper

Parmesan to serve

Method

Heat the oven to 200 degrees fan and toss the squash with a drizzle of olive oil, garlic granules and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Cook in the oven for 45 minutes until golden but not crispy.

When done, heat a large pot on a medium heat with a dash of olive oil. Add the pancetta and cook until mostly brown but not too crispy. Add the onion and celery and saute for ten minutes until soft. Add the rosemary and sage and fry for a further two minutes. Add the chestnuts, squash and cover with enough boiling water to just cover the squash. Add a stock cube if you have it. Bring to the boil and then reduce and simmer for 10 minutes. When done, add the ground almonds and two tbsp parmesan. Blend thoroughly with a hand blender. Put the lid on and then break the meatballs in half and fry them in a frying pan. When crispy, bowl up the soup with the meatballs on top and another grating of parmesan.