Now that its getting cooler (and by cooler I mean its stopped reaching 35 degrees every day… it actually didn’t get about 29 the other day! Admittedly it was raining all day… but it still counts!!!), and we are on our way to winter it’s time to start thinking about warm wintery dishes (if we crank the air con we can pretend…).

I was recently given a lovely little home grown butter nut pumpkin with strict instructions that it must be made into a soup, so what better way to kick off the season than with a perfect winter warmer soup – Pumpkin soup!

Prep time – 10 mins, Cooking time – 1 hr, Serves 4

Pumpkin Soup

1 large butter nut pumpkin -halved lengthways

2 rashers of bacon

1 red onion – quartered

2 tbs minced garlic

3 cups chicken stock

Salt and pepper

1/2 tsp nutmeg

cream – to serve

1. Preheat oven to 210ºC.
2. Remove seeds from your pumpkin and brush with olive oil. You may wish to set some seeds aside roast with the pumpkin for a crunchy soup topping!
3. Season pumpkin well with salt and pepper, and add a generous coating of nutmeg.
4. Place your pumpkin cut side up on a prepared tray and inside the cavity left by the seeds place the bacon, onion and garlic.
5. Bake for about an hour until the pumpkin is soft and golden brown.
6. Using a large spoon, scoop your pumpkin, onion and garlic and bacon into a food processor and fill with chicken stock. Process until smooth
7. Top with toasted pumpkin seeds, pepper and a drizzle of cream. If you like you can also serve with  yummy crusty bread on the side!
8. Enjoy!

~A