Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Roasted Pumpkin soup.  It is beautiful, velvety, has such depth of flavour and is ridiculously easy to make.

This has been my second batch in as many weeks as we keep getting large fresh pumpkins in our weekly fruit and veg box.

Today I thought I would share the recipe with you, instead of just teasing you with pictures.

There are two corners you definitely should not cut when making this soup.  Firstly you need good home made stock.  Once you have tried soup made with the real thing, you will never reach for the little cubes or tins of that flaky stuff.

Secondly, you really must cook the onions in butter and be careful not to brown them.  The flavour of the buttered onions needs to be there in the final product, to add that depth of flavour I was talking about.

Okay, now we have the basics down, you will need one pumpkin.  Any type will do.  If it is a butternut chop it in half length ways, if one of the round variety, then chop it into about 4 chunks.  Minimal chopping is what I am looking for here people.

So now chuck your chopped pumpkin on a baking tray and shove it in your hot preheated oven until it is cooked well and truly and has some nice caramelized bits on it.  While that is roasting, you can slice up about two onions.  I am fond of the red ones, but really any type will do.  Get out whatever saucepan you do your soup in and toss in about 4 tbs of butter and bring it up to foaming on your burner.  Pop the onions in, give them a stir to coat in butter then pop the lid on and cook over medium heat, shaking every once and a while for about 1o min.  Remember, we don't really want them browning.

Breaking up all this text with kids on holiday shot - oh if only they would eat pumpkin soup...

When your pumpkin is cooked pull it out.  You probably should let it cool a bit, but I am often just to hasty and jump right in to pulping it.  

First get rid of any seedy bits, they are are not wanted and should be given to the chooks or the worms.  Scoop out all that cooked flesh and add it to your pot with the cooked onions.  See how easy this is, no chopping up and removing the skin, just scooping out deliciously caramelized pumpkin.

Now you should add your stock, enough to make it soup like in consistency.  If it has been a bad week and you are stockless, then just add some water and seasoning and it should all still turn out rosy.

Let it all simmer together for about 5-10 min then puree, bowl it and eat it up!

Enjoy my pumpkin loving friends

Trace xx