I visited a pumpkin farm yesterday and bought a small pumpkin. As the weather gets cooler, it's the perfect time to make a wholesome and delicious soup. This soup is warm and comforting yet healthy because I am not using butter and flour in the soup.
Ingredients
1 kg of pumpkin, cut into small pieces
2 onions, diced
3 shallots, diced (optional)
5 cloves of garlic, diced
1 tsp of mixed herbs + 2 bay leaves (or 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp cloves)
2 cups of chicken stock
1.5 cups of water
A little cream for garnish
A little paprika for colour
Method
Drizzle olive oil on pumpkin pieces and grill in the oven (450F) for 10 mins. Then grill the other sides for another 5 mins
Put some oil in a deep pot and pan fry onion, shallot and garlic until soft. Add mixed herbs and cook until it releases flavours
When pumpkin is grilled, it’s soft and slightly golden brown. At this time, the skin can be easily removed.
Add pumpkin flesh to the pot, add water and chicken stock. Make sure the liquid just covers all the ingredients. If there's too much liquid, the soup won't be thick enough
Bring to a boil and simmer for at least 20 mins until pumpkin pieces are very soft
Remove from heat and pick up the 2 bay leaves.
Blend until creamy using a blender
Add some water if you want to thin out the soup
Taste and add salt and pepper. Add a little paprika if you want the soup to look more orange in colour
Garnish with cream or chives