Allotment Pumpkin Soup
This recipe is suitable for freezing but I would leave out the crème fraiche or cream until ready to warm through again after thawing.
What you will need:
- 1 pumpkin
- 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil
- 1 large onion - chopped
- 2 small potatoes - peeled and chopped into chunks
- 4 vegetable stock cubes dissolved in 1 pint of boiling water
- 2 pints of boiling water
- I x tub crème fraiche or ¼ pint double cream
- 1 x teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon of white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon curry powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
To do:
- Cut off the top stalk off the pumpkin
- Chop the pumpkin flesh into slices and then into chunks (about 1 inch in size)
- Remove the skin off each piece by simply chopping it off and then remove the stringy bits that are inside the pumpkin too and throw this away
- Remove the seeds and place on one side in a bowl – see recipe for Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
- Heat the oil on a medium heat in a large saucepan or pot. Add the chopped onion and potatoes with the salt, pepper, curry powder, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. Stir well to coat all the vegetable pieces and make sure that they don’t ‘catch’ on the bottom of the pan and burn
- Dissolve 4 vegetable stock cubes in one pint of boiling water and add to the pan. Then add 2 more pints of boiling water to the pan. This liquid should now cover all the vegetables. If not, add more water until it does!
- Now stir occasionally and bring to the boil. Put the lid on the pan and leave the vegetables to cook until soft (about 15 minutes)
- When the vegetables are cooked – remove the pan from the heat. Taste. Add more seasoning if necessary and stir.
- Using a blender stick, whizz over the liquid until smooth soup is formed
- Add the crème fraiche or double cream and stir in until it’s ‘melted’ into the liquid. Taste for seasoning again and enjoy!
