Pumpkin & Maple Soup
- For the Garnish:
- 75g Whitworths Pumpkin Seeds
- 2 tbsp. Paprika
- ¼ tsp. Sea Salt
- 1 tsp. Sunflower oil
- 1 tsp. Maple syrup
- For the Soup:
- 1 Large Pumpkin – 2.5kg when whole
- 2 tbsp. Sunflower oil
- 6 tbsp. Maple Syrup
- 1 Large White onion, finely chopped
- 2 Medium carrots, washed and roughly chopped
- 2 Sticks of celery, washed and roughly chopped
- 1 Stock cube
Ready… Steady… Bake…
- Preheat oven to 180C fan/ 200C/ Gas mark 6
- Cut the top off the pumpkin by angling the point of a sharp knife into it near the top and cutting round in a circle. Ensure you leave a hole large enough to fit a ladle in to serve the soup later.
- Using a large spoon scrape out and discard the seeds and the bright orange stringy pulp and discard it.
- Using the same spoon scrape out as much of the pumpkin flesh as possible- taking care to not to pierce the pumpkin skin.
- Heat the other oil in a heavy bottom saucepan and sweat the onion, carrot and celery until it starts to turn translucent.
- Add the pumpkin to the saucepan and sweat for a further minute.
- Add enough water to the pan to cover the veg and stir in the stock cube.
- Simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
- Once cooked blend until smooth using a hand blender- for an extra silky texture pass the soup through a fine sieve.
- Meanwhile preheat the oven to 200C Fan/220C/ Gas 7
- Stir the garnish ingredients together and spread evenly over a baking sheet, bake for 5 minutes until crispy
- To serve pour the soup back into the pumpkin and garnish with a swirl of maple syrup and the toasty seeds – you could also try adding a dash of cream or a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
