Pumpkin soup - Seasonal recipe 🎃

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves
• Fresh ginger (size of a thumb) peeled and finely chopped
• 1 kg pumpkin or squash peeled, deseeded  and chopped into chunks (use eating pumpkin or butternut squash, not carving pumpkins for Halloween)
• 700ml vegetable stock
• 150ml double cream or 1 can of coconut milk
• Pumpkin seeds to be added at the end as a topping

Directions:

• Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan then gently cook the onions for 5 mins until soft.
• Add 2 kg pumpkin or squash to the pan and cook for 8 - 10 mins stirring occasionally.
• Add the garlic and ginger and stir for a minute.
• Poor 700ml vegetable stock into the pan and season with pepper and salt.  Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 mins until the pumpkin / squash is soft.
• Poor in the cream or coconut milk and bring back to the boil.  Then with a hand blender puree until the soup is a velvety consistency. 

Roasted pumpkin seeds that have been scooped from the pumpkin can be roasted.

• Heat the oven to 200C / 180C fan / gas 6.  Wash the seeds thoroughly and remove any stringy bits of the pumpkin flesh. Dry well using kitchen paper.
• Put the seeds on a baking tray and toss with a glug of olive oil and roast for 10 mins.  These can be a snack or used as a garnish for soups or salads. 

Image by stockking on Freepik