MY DELICIOUS PUMPKIN SOUP

Halloween is over for another year and millions of pumpkins are going to be discarded in favour of Christmas and holiday decorations. Pumpkins have always been one of my favourite foods and I always relish this time of year as I get to make lots of delicious recipes with them. 

One of the easiest and most satisfying of these is my pumpkin soup with toasted almonds and coconut yogurt. As well as a whole pumpkin, it also has sweet and regular potato which helps to give it a gorgeous thickness and packs it full of goodness. 

So why not take a second look at your pumpkins? Maybe the ones you carved up for lanterns are truly past it, but the grocery stores will be stocking pumpkins well into the Winter season so there is plenty of time to get cooking with this delicious and healthy squash variety. 

Ingredients:

• 1 medium sized pumpkin.

• 4 TBSP olive oil

• 4 red onions, finely sliced

• 3 TBSP sherry or balsamic vinegar

• 2 regular potatoes, cubed

• 1 medium sweet potato, cubed

• 3 garlic cloves, grated

• 1 litre (about 5 cups) vegetable stock

• 2 TBSP coriander powder

• 2 TBSP dry oregano

• 2 TBSP dry thyme

• 1 TBSP turmeric powder

• 1 TBSP garlic powder or garlic granules

• Pinch chilli powder

• To serve: coconut yogurt, toasted almonds, pinch of salt, and pepper.

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C and line a tray with baking paper.

2. Peel the skin off the pumpkin, remove the seeds and cut into medium sized cubes. Add the cubes to a large bowl with 2 TBSP of olive oil and a good pinch of salt. Rub everything together with your hands and then add it to the pan and roast for 20 minutes.

3. Whilst the pumpkin is roasting, add 2 TBSP olive oil to a medium pan on low heat. Add the onions and vinegar. Cook for 20 – 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until soft and caramelised, then turn off the heat and set to one side.

4. Whilst the onions are cooking, add all of the potatoes to a medium pot with the garlic, all of the vegetable stock and all of the herbs and spices. Bring the pot to a boil, turn down the heat and leave to simmer for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

5. After the potatoes, the pumpkin and the onions have cooled, add them all to your serving pot and blend together with a hand-blender. Alternatively, you can also add everything to a blender in batches. If the soup is too thick, add water.

6. To serve, add a good dollop of coconut yogurt and then sprinkle on some toasted almonds and salt and pepper.