Chilli-Spiced Butternut Soup

I made this soup the other day. It was very warming and tasty. I'm putting it here so it's easy for me to find, but perhaps someone else might like to try it. Serves 4.

One large onion chopped
One butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
One Bramley apple, peeled, cored and chopped (Bramleys are large cooking apples. If you can't get them then use 2 sharp, green apples)
A sprig of fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried chillies
600 ml stock, chicken or vegetable (about a pint)

Fry the onion gently in a litle olive oil, stirring occasionally, until softened.

Stir in the squash, apple, garlic, thyme and chillies, cover and leave to cook on a very low heat for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally until squash is tender.

Remove sprig of thyme and blend the soup in a food processor or with a hand blender. Add half the stock and process to a smooth puree.

Return to the pan and add the remaining stock.
Serve with wholewheat croutons.

You could add cooked, crumbles bacon at this stage if you were so inclined.