Ingredients

• 1 onion
• roughly chopped
• 1 butternut squash
• unpeeled
• halved
• seeds scraped out
• sliced into 2.5cm/1in x 2.5cm/1in cubes
• 500g/1lb 2oz sweet potatoes
• unpeeled
• cut into 2.5cm/1in thick rings
• 60ml/2fl oz olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1.5 litres/2 pints 13fl oz vegetable stock
• 125ml/4oz marsala wine
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 125g/4oz blue cheese
• crumbled
• 250ml/9fl oz buttermilk

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
• Place the onion
• chopped butternut squash and sweet potato onto a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour
• or until tender.
• Allow the vegetables to cool slightly
• then place half into a food processor and add 500ml/17fl oz of the vegetable stock. Blend to a purée and transfer to a large pan. Repeat with the remaining roasted vegetables and 500ml/17fl oz more of the stock - transfer the purée to the pan.
• Add the remaining 500ml/17fl oz of vegetable stock to the food processor and stir to catch any remnants of the vegetable purée
• then pour into the pan.
• Add the marsala wine and season
• to taste
• with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add a little more water if the soup is too thick for your liking.
• For the buttermilk cheese sauce
• place the blue cheese and buttermilk into a clean food processor and blend to a paste. Transfer the blue cheese sauce to a jug or bowl.
• To serve
• ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle some of the blue cheese into each bowl. Leave the sauce on the table for your guests to add more if they wish.