Pumpkin Soup

 I'm feeling very autumnal and obviously with Halloween coming up I thought there was no better time to rustle up a batch of homemade pumpkin soup. It really is so easy and super tasty. You will need:

1 large pumpkin, seeded, diced and peeled
2 onions, finely chopped
200ml double cream
700ml vegetable stock
Hot chilli powder, to taste
Chopped Thyme, to taste

1. Begin my chopping up your pumpkin. I'm not gonna lie, this is hard work! I began by cutting away the top and bottom, then slicing into segments. Swipe away the seeds as you would a melon. It is difficult to remove the skin as it is so tough. I'd recommend roughly chopping it off rather than attempting to use a vegetable peeler.

2. Add a little oil to the largest pan you can find (I had to use two) and heat. Add the chopped onions and fry for 5 minutes until soft but not coloured. Then add the chunks of pumpkin and heat until the pumpkin turns a golden shade.

3. Add the hot vegetable stock and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the pumpkin pieces soften. Then add the double cream. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Next you need to puree your ingredients in a blender or food processor. In my processor I would fit 800ml of ingredients in at a time, so had to do this in three batches. Add the pumpkin chunks with only a small amount of the liquid. Puree until the soup reaches a thick, smooth consistency then add some more of the liquid. At this point I added chilli powder and thyme to taste.

5. At this point you could run your soup through a sieve for a silkier texture, but I like my soup to be thick. Transfer all your pureed soup back to a large pan and reheat. Serve with a swirl of double cream and a warm, crusty roll.