The allotment is getting sleepy… and it’s also getting cold. It’s hot dogs on the fire and hot chocolate to keep our hands warm while we’re there from now on! The last of the harvest bounty has come in… and we’ve finally collected the gnarly old pumpkins ready for halloween and ready for pumpkin soup… So here’s the first halloween pumpkin recipe of the season!
Ingredients for the soup (serves 4):
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1 large carrot, chopped
2 sticks celery
10 fresh sage leaves, chopped
salt & pepper
2 bay leaves
2lbs pumpkin flesh, chopped into bite sized (or slightly larger) chunks
800mls boiling water (1 tsp vegetable stock dissolved)
100mls white wine
For the croutons:
250g stale or day old sourdough bread
50g organic cheddar
3 tbsp olive oil
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C for the croutons.
2. Bring 800mls water to the boil and add 1 tsp vegetable bouillon.
3. Heat the bay leaves, butter and olive oil in a large pan.
4. Add the chopped onion, celery, garlic and carrot and soften for around 10 minutes.
5. Peel and roughly chop the pumpkin flesh into large chunks. Add to the pan with the sage leaves, salt & pepper.
6. Add the white wine, and stir. Pour in the vegetable stock whilst stirring until the vegetables are covered.
7. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft.
8. Meanwhile, chop the bread in to bite sized chunks and add to a baking tray.
9. Cover the bread with olive oil and 50g grated cheddar.
10. Put the croutons in the oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown.
11. When the pumpkin is soft, add the juice of half a lemon and blend until smooth.
12. Serve the soup with 3 or 4 croutons and an extra crack of black pepper!
- Tangy Sourdough and Cheddar Croutons…
This is a lovely soup, and the sourdough croutons make it really hearty and add a lovely tang. Actually I forgot I had a sourdough loaf in the oven and ended up with an over-baked and dry loaf… no good for eating sadly,
but perfect for croutons! The rest of it will become breadcrumbs!
Let us know how you get on… and if you have time, come and say hello on twitter, instagram, pintrest and bloglovin. Many thanks this week to the lovely folk of Hersham for all your encouraging feedback! Happy Halloween! Lauren, Tim, Leo & Gwen
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This sounds and looks delicious! Browsed through your recipes and they all sound great 🙂
You too!