Sunday Cook: Autumn Pumpkin Soup (and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Snack!)

3 Nov 2013

Autumn is most definitely one of the best seasons for food. Warming stews, soups and pies are some of my favourites to make (and obviously eat!). As it was Halloween this week I thought I'd share with you a super tasty Pumpkin Soup recipe that me and my boyfriend made. As well as a tasty way to use the leftover pumpkin seeds!

Pumpkin Soup:

Ingredients: 2 onions (or a handful of baby onions) * 1kg pumpkin * 700ml Vegetable Stock * Small pot of Double Cream * Bread to dip!

Home made soup is literally so easy to make but always seems rather impressive to serve I think! Firstly you need to chop the onions and peel, de-seed and chop the pumpkin. Saving the innards for the pumpkin seed snack if you want!

Heat some olive oil in a pan, then add the onions for around 5 minutes until they are soft. Next add the chopped pumpkin and cook for 8-10 minutes, until turning soft and golden. You then need to add the vegetable stock and season with salt and pepper. Bring the pan to the boil and then simmer for 10 minutes until the squash is very soft.

Finally add the cream and bring back to the boil. Then purée the mixture with a hand blender. This can get messy so be careful! And voila! You've made soup! Bring out the bowls and bread and dig in!

For a little extra touch you can grate some nutmeg on top. We managed to get 5 portions out of this batch, but really it depends how big your bowls are!

To use up the leftover pumpkin seeds I found a recipe on A Beautiful Mess that looked yummy! Simply wash and strain the seeds to get rid of any residue pulp, add a tablespoon of oil and any spices that you like. We chose smoked paprika and tumeric! Then spread flat on a baking tray and bake in the oven at Gas Mark 6/200C for about 15 minutes or until they are golden in colour. Do watch them though in case your oven cooks quicker, as they will burn easily! They end up a bit like popcorn, but obviously a lot healthier! :)