It wouldn’t be autumn without a good old pumpkin soup! How can something so simple can taste so utterly delicious!? It’s really all about the pumpkin or the squash I should say you are using. My favourite is definitely the Kobucha squash, the round one with a deep green skin and vibrant orange flesh. It’s just so flavoursome (way more than regular pumpkins) with a lovely chestnut note. If you can’t find it (farmers market or farm shops are always the best bet) you can totally use a much more common butternut squash but I would highly recommend to go the extra mile to find this gem!

Makes a large pot – enough for 3-4 people

Ingredients:

1 kobucha squash – if you can’t find other great options are a regular butternut squash or an onion squash

1 white onion finely sliced

3 garlic cloves crushed

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

1 nut meg

About 1/2 litre of vegetable stock, depending on how runny you like the soup

Salt to taste

A dash of oil for cooking

Toppings:

I like to serve it with a dollop of unsweetened coconut yogurt, some pumpkin seeds and some crunchy chickpeas but even with a simple slice of toasted bread will be delicious!

Peel the squash, cut it in half and scoop out the seeds. Chop the squash into cubes.

Add the oil into a pan together with sliced onion. Cook the onion on a low heat for 8-10 minutes. You want to make sure the onion is really cooked dowm and caramelised, that will add lots of flavour to the soup. Add in the crushed garlic, chopped squash, the cinnamon stick and the bay leaf. Add a pinch of salt and just a splash of the vegetable stock to preventing the squash sticking to the pan. Put the lid on and cook down the squash for about 10 minutes. Add in the remaning vegetable stock and cook for another 20 minutes until the squash has completely broken down. Add in a generous grating of the nutmeg and add more salt if needed. Blend the soup by either using a hand blender or a regular blender until super smooth and creamy. Serve straight away with a drizzle of coconut yogurt, pumpkin seeds and crunchy chickpeas.