Butternut soup

It's miserable here, so we made a good traditional South African butternut soup yesterday. Don't use pumpkin unless you absolutely have to: this is a butternut soup, with all the fun that entails. Here's the recipe:

Should serve about 6

1.5 kg butternut (muskaatkõrvits or pähkelkõrvits in Estonian), peeled and cut into 5cm blocks
2 large onions, finely chopped
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
a chilli (or to taste), finely chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 litre chicken stock
2 tbsp lemon juice
250ml cream
1tsp nutmeg, ground
1tsp cumin, ground
1/2 tsp mustard seeds, ground
salt and pepper to taste
coriander leaves to serve

In a large pot, melt the butter, and fry the onion, garlic and chilli at medium heat until transparent. Add the spices, and stir around a bit until everything is well covered. Add the butternut, stock, and lemon juice, stir again, bring to the boil and then simmer for about 30 minutes or until the butternut is soft and ready. Puree it using a food processor or handheld mixer thingy, then add the cream and carefully heat it again. It should then be ready.

Serve with an extra dollop of cream and some coriander. And bread. And wine. And freeze the rest for winter.