Butternut squash soup

Over the past few days it has been rainy and grey here in London and it honestly feels like autumn has arrived a bit too soon. And as it is so cold and grey I craved for something that would warm me up from the inside and bring some colour to my grey world. I was travelling for a bit over a month so I decided to take advantage of something that to me is very British (I had not tasted it before moving to the UK) - butternut squash.

There is nothing that would have fulfilled my craving as well as this light, yellow and slightly spiced soup did. As it is still technically summer I felt like I couldn't justify making myself a hearty stew, for that I would really need the winter to come! After having a bowl of this I felt a lot happier, maybe to do with the fact that I was full and warm, regardless that the sky had turned nearly black and it felt like it was hailing instead of raining. Oh well, I'm so glad my mood so easily manipulated with food, especially in situations like that.

Ingredients
(Serves 4)
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 small leek, thinly sliced
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp cumin seeds, crushed
- 1kg butternut squash, chopped coarsely
- 750ml chicken stock
- 250ml water
(-300g potato, optional)

Directions
Heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the leek and garlic until tender. Add the cumin and cook for further few minutes. Then add butternut squash, stock (and potato if using) and the water and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for around 20 minutes until squash is cooked. Blend the soup and bring back to boil. Serve with some creme fraiche, sprinkle of parmesan cheese or croutons.