Pumpkin Soup Recipe

As the weather turns colder there’s nothing better than cosying up with a warming bowl of soup. Pumpkins aren’t just for carving this Halloween season, why make use of this nutritious squash and cook up a batch of delicious pumpkin soup!

Pumpkins and squashes are rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibre, making them the perfect food to support your health and wellbeing during the colder months.

Recipe

1 large chopped onion (red or white)

2 peeled and chopped medium carrots

2 garlic cloves (or a teaspoon of garlic paste)

25g unsalted butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1 bay leaf

1 medium pumpkin (prepared weight about 850g) deseeded and cut into small squares

1 medium-sized potato (you could also use sweet potato for this), cut into small squares

1 litre vegetable or chicken stock

100ml double cream

3 tbsp pumpkin seeds (optional)

salt and black pepper

Method

Put the onion, carrots, garlic bay leaf, butter and half the olive oil into a large pan. Cook over a low–medium heat for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

Add the squash and potato, mix to combine and cook for a further 2–3 minutes. Pour in the stock, season well and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, half cover the pan with a lid and continue to cook for about 40 minutes until the squash is well cooked.

Pick out the bay leaf and blend the soup until it’s smooth.

Add the cream and salt and pepper as required.

Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the pumpkin seeds and fry quickly until the seeds start to pop. Remove from the pan.

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with cream and the toasted pumpkin seeds.

Enjoy!