My pumpkins failed to put in an appearance this year and they are sadly missed. We keep passing gardens which have lots of them laid out on the vegetable beds, just to taunt me.
The other day, we visited an organic farm to buy some lamb for one of our visitors, and Louisa gave me a large pumpkin to take home (plus a couple of butternut squash). Here it is in all it's glory :-
Sorry about the "turn right" printed on the photo - we've had horrendous problems trying to turn the photo around because I took the photo sideways. This was the best we could do - at least the pumpkin is not on it's side any more.
Anyway, it looked just too perfect to cut into . . . but, it had to be done!
A few years ago we went to a restaurant in Scotland and had pumpkin and chilli soup, and it was so, so good I decided to try and make it myself. This is my version, hope you enjoy it :-
Chris' Pumpkin and Chilli Soup
Olive Oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1-2 red chillies, sliced
Medium-sized pumpkin, chopped
1.5 pts vegetable stock
Small tub half-fat creme fraiche
Salt and black pepper
Saute onions, garlic and chillies in oil for a few minutes, then add pumpkin. Give everything a good stir, put lid on pan and sweat over a low heat for 5 minutes. Stir in stock and simmer gently until all vegetables are tender.
Liquidise soup in food processor, or press through a sieve. Pour back into pan, stir in creme fraiche and season to taste.
Re-heat, without boiling, and serve immediately with a few croutons* sprinkled on top.
*A nice alternative to croutons is to slowly roast the pumpkin seeds in oil with salt and pepper until they are tender and then sprinkle some of these on top of the soup. The rest make a delicious snack when you're feeling a bit peckish!
The other day, we visited an organic farm to buy some lamb for one of our visitors, and Louisa gave me a large pumpkin to take home (plus a couple of butternut squash). Here it is in all it's glory :-
Anyway, it looked just too perfect to cut into . . . but, it had to be done!
A few years ago we went to a restaurant in Scotland and had pumpkin and chilli soup, and it was so, so good I decided to try and make it myself. This is my version, hope you enjoy it :-
Chris' Pumpkin and Chilli Soup
Olive Oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1-2 red chillies, sliced
Medium-sized pumpkin, chopped
1.5 pts vegetable stock
Small tub half-fat creme fraiche
Salt and black pepper
Saute onions, garlic and chillies in oil for a few minutes, then add pumpkin. Give everything a good stir, put lid on pan and sweat over a low heat for 5 minutes. Stir in stock and simmer gently until all vegetables are tender.
Liquidise soup in food processor, or press through a sieve. Pour back into pan, stir in creme fraiche and season to taste.
Re-heat, without boiling, and serve immediately with a few croutons* sprinkled on top.
*A nice alternative to croutons is to slowly roast the pumpkin seeds in oil with salt and pepper until they are tender and then sprinkle some of these on top of the soup. The rest make a delicious snack when you're feeling a bit peckish!
No pumpkins for us this year either, too cold. The soup sounds great!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It can be a bit spicy though, so if you don't like too much, use less chilli, or take the seeds out.
ReplyDelete