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Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin Soup

Hallowe'en was upon us last weekend, so the obvious choice for a soup was pumpkin. Last year I made Jeanette Orrey's pumpkin and apple soup (see my blog of 30th October 2010), leaving only Monty Don's recipe to make this year. (By the way, did you see his series Italian Gardens? Great stuff!) The spouse bought the pumpkin so that the younger offspring could have a Jack o' lantern. I picked out two designs (one cheery, the other spooky), drew them on opposite sides of the pumpkin, and let the child cut out the shapes. Then I had to scoop out the flesh for the soup and for a cake recipe. The other ingredients were potatoes, vegetable stock, tomatoes, fresh sage leaves and seasoning.

I have tried various pumpkin soup recipes over the years and have usually been disappointed by how bland they were. The spouse suggested that I use a chilli from one of his plants that are growing on our kitching window sill. I thought, "Why not?" Good decision. It gave the soup a bit of a kick, and the blended potatoes added a more substantial texture. The three of us had it for our lunch and enjoyed it with a spoonful of yoghurt added to calm the chilli. This is the recipe that I will use again for using up pumpkins. By the way, the cake was pretty good too.


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