Recipes

Pumpkin soup

This warming autumnal soup is packed with goodness. Pumpkin is rich in potassium, which supports healthy blood pressure, and this homemade version skips the excess salt and unhealthy fats found in many shop-bought options. Topped with fibre-rich wholewheat croutons, it’s a nourishing choice for a light lunch or tasty starter.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Chop the pumpkin into wedges, no need to remove the skin, scoop out the seeds (you can roast these if you want), cut the onion into quarters and slice the top off the garlic bulb, removing any loose skin.
2. Add the pumpkin, whole tomatoes, onion quarters and garlic bulb to a roasting dish and drizzle with 3 tbsp olive oil. Roast for about 35 minutes until the pumpkin flesh is soft and everything is golden brown.
3. Once everything is cooked, leave it to cool a little before scooping the pumpkin flesh away from the skin, squeezing the garlic cloves out of the bulb and adding everything to a heavy bottomed, large saucepan. If you prefer a smoother soup, you can discard the tomato skin
4. Add the stock to the pan and bring everything to the boil before using a stainless-steel stick blender to blitz everything smooth.
5. Season with black pepper, top with croutons or roasted pumpkin seeds and serve with some toasted wholewheat bread drizzled with a little more olive oil if desired.