Winter has all of a sudden arrived and because of that, I’ve been obsessed with heart-warming pumpkin soup recently. I know, this isn’t exactly news, if it weren’t for the fact that I usually HATE soup, and I’d never eaten pumpkin before. But ever since trying it for the first time at my beloved Ottolenghi a few weeks ago, I’ve been trying to recreate the yummy goodness at home, so I wouldn’t have to go eat it there every day – not that I would mind!

A few weeks ago, I tried a recipe for the first time and was shocked at how easy it was to make yourself. Now, several pumpkins, cut fingers and recipe adjustments later, I think I’ve got it nailed. So rather than keeping my ‘secret’ recipe to myself, and with Thanksgiving coming up this week, I thought I’d share the pumpkin love. I apologise if you were expecting a fashionable post, but here it is, my first ever food-post. If you all like, I might even make it a regular thing! I can cook more than soup…

It’s shockingly easy and quick to make – as is any soup, once you get the hang of it – but carving the pumpkin is definitely the biggest challenge. If you can get hold of pre-cut bits of pumpkin, I’d go for it, as it avoids a lot of mess and chopped off fingers. If you can’t, cut the pumpkin up, remove the seeds and pulp, and cut off the peel, as if you would a melon. A good knife is key…

Ingredients:
1kg of chopped pumkin
2-3 white onions
4 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
Vegetable or Chicken stock cubes
Fresh Parsley
Pumkin seeds
Single Cream
Salt & Pepper
And my secret ingredient: Golden Syrup

1: Put the chopped pumpkin, roughly chopped onions and carrots in a large pot, add some olive oil and sauté on a medium-high heat (don’t let them brown!) for about 10-15mins. Make sure you stir so all veggies can get nice and hot.

2: Make about 1-1.5l of stock with the cubes (depending on how thick you like your soup) and pour over the sautéed veggies. Bring to the boil for a couple of minutes, then let it simmer for about 20mins until everything gets soft. Add salt and pepper to taste

3: Take your handmixer to the simmering stew and mix away. Within seconds you’ll see the mixture turning into a smooth, orange soup. Make sure you get rid of all the chunks! Add a couple of tablespoons of the Golden Syrup or honey to give it that special wintery taste. (If you’re not sure about this, I dare you, it’s amazing). That’s it, your soup is DONE!

4: To serve, grill some slices of Ciabatta bread in the oven with some olive oil. Then put the soup into bowls, add a dash of the cream in the center and twirl with your spoon, throw some pumpkin seeds and parsley leaves over it, and you’re done.

It looks professional(ish), it’s healthy, it tastes amazing and it takes about half an hour to make. You can make huge batches and freeze the rest, no problem at all.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to eat some soup.