Roasted Pumpkin Soup
1 large pumpkin (as all pumpkins are large, I'd say approx. 6lbs)
2 - 3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
6 garlic cloves, skin left on
2 litres laksa stock - made with either chicken or vegetable stock cubes and coconut cream
Coriander sprigs
1 lime, juice and grated zest
1 fresh red chilli
My sister grew a big crop of pumpkins one year, despite the fact that other people had great trouble growing them because of the torrential rain throughout the summer. After a visit down to Somerset, she gave me a pumpkin to take home. I didn't really know what to do with it, but definitely didn't want to waste it. This soup is what I came up with.
Cut the pumpkin into quarters. Using a small, sharp knife scrape out all the seeds and stringy bits. Cut the pumpkin into large chunks, leaving the skin on and put into your biggest baking tray.
Cut the hard ends off the garlic cloves, leaving the skin on and scatter amongst the pumpkin. Drizzle the olive oil over the vegetables and give them a good mix. Season with salt and pepper.
Put in a hot oven - 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6 for 40 minutes, turning the vegetables over half way through cooking. When they are nicely browned, take them out of the oven to cool slightly.
Scoop the pumpkin out of the skin with a large spoon and place in a food processor in batches, with the roasted garlic (remove the skins first). It can become quite a messy business, but it's good fun and easy to clean up! Cover with some of the stock and then liquidise. The soup will be fairly thick at this stage. Pour the soup into a clean, large pan and repeat till all the vegetables have been liquidised.
Heat through gently, adding lime zest, lime juice and more stock to taste and to suit the consistency you like.
It’s a really good soup, great with crusty bread and butter and some roasted garlic on the side.
Thanks for the pumpkins Elliet!