Pumpkin soup

A simple soup using the best that the season has to offer...

Ingredients;

Pumpkin or squash, enough to yield around 750g of flesh once prepped (equivalent to the 3 small ones pictured above)
1 large onion
2 cooking apples
1 litre of stock (vegetable or chicken)
2 tsp of cumin seeds
2 tsp of coriander seeds
Olive oil salt and pepper

Method;

1) Slice the onion and sweat with a tbsp of olive oil in a large thick based saucepan whilst you prep the pumpkins.

2) Discard the pumpkin seeds (or wash and toast in a little oil to use as a garnish) and peel the pumpkins cutting it into large cubes before adding to the sweated onions.

3) Grind the spices and add to the saucepan, allowing to toast for a minute or two before adding the stock along with the peeled, cored and chopped apples.

4) Bring to the boil and simmer until the pumpkin is totally soft (20-30 minutes), the stock should just cover the rest of the ingredients.  Taste as the soup simmers, the amount of seasoning will depend heavily on the stock (cubes tend to be very, very, very salty).

5) Once the pumpkin's soft, blitz with a stick blender unit completely smooth.  Add a little water if too thick and taste to adjust the seasoning.

This is a lovely warming taste of the season.  You can experiment by leaving out the apple or sweetening it by using apple juice instead of stock.  Cinnamon, chilli and paprika or cayenne are all good additions too...