Pumpkin Soup

Halloween is great fun away in the van and this year we have brought our beloved Eagle to the Camping and Caravan Club's site Teversal in Notts. We are away with friends and between us we have six children, which means six pumpkins and a lot of pumpkin flesh. I'm not one for wasting food so pumpkin soup is on the menu, whether they like it or not!

 

Ingredients:

6x Pumpkins, flesh hollowed out
2x Large onions, peeled and chopped
4x Garlic cloves, peeled
1x Tin of tomatoes
Tomato Puree
Turmeric
Cumin powder
Coriander powder
Smoked paprika
Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon
Red wine vinegar
Double cream
Greek basil


Method:

1. Boil a kettle.
2. In a big pan sweat off the onions and whole garlic cloves.
3. Add the spices, about a tablespoon of each, and gently fry for a minute or two.
4. Add a good dollop of tomato puree and fry for a minute.
5. Add half the kettle of water and mix in the pumpkin flesh and chopped basil stalks.
6. Stir regularly and add more water as needed.
7. Add a good glug of red wine vinegar.
8. When the pumpkin is soft blend with a hand blender.
9. Taste. It will taste like bland old pumpkin at this point but seasoning with bouillon, salt and pepper brings it alive. The bouillon is salty so start with that then finish off with salt (if needed) and pepper.
10. Turn off the heat, swirl in the pot of cream, drizzle some nice oil and top with Greek basil leaves.