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Serves: 8 

Time: 1 hr roasting + 30 mins cooking

Cost: $

Eating seasonal produce is good for the planet, your health, and your budget. At this time of year pumpkin is one of the most affordable things we can find that fits the bill. This recipe is pretty low effort, just taking a bit of time to roast the pumpkin, but you can do this in advance to save on time. Depending on the size of your pumpkin, this recipe makes a heap of soup so can feed a flat full of hungry people, plus have some leftovers for lunch :)) 

Ingredients 

• Oil 
• Salt & pepper
• 1 large pumpkin (peeled and diced) 
• 1 leek (washed and sliced)
• 1 onion (diced)
• 5 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• 2 tsp crushed fresh ginger
• 2 tsp ground cumin 
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 6 cups vegetable stock + any extra water (you may need more or less depending on the size of your pumpkin. The pumpkin I used here was pretty large. Use your common sense and if it starts to look too watery for your taste don’t add the full amount.) 
• 1 cup cooking cream

Method

1. Begin by roasting your pumpkin. Heat an oven to 180°C and line a couple of baking trays with some baking paper. Toss the chopped pumpkin in a small amount of oil and some salt and pepper, then place on the tray, and into the oven for approx. 35 mins or until soft and starting to get the occasional browned edge. Once cooked, remove from the oven and place aside. Repeat until all the pumpkin is roasted. This may take two batches. NOTE: You can do this earlier in the day or a day before, just store the pumpkin in the fridge until you’re ready to cook the soup.
2. From here place a large soup pot on a medium heat element and add a small amount of oil to the bottom. Add the chopped onion, leek and a small pinch of salt. Cook for 10 mins until softened.
3. Stir in the garlic and ginger, cooking for 3 mins until fragrant. 
4. From here add in the ground cumin, coriander and curry powder, plus a little more oil if needed, and cook for another 3 mins to toast the spices. 
5. Add in the roasted pumpkin, stirring until combined with the onion and spices. You will have kind of a pumpkiny mush at this stage. Cook for a couple of mins over low heat.
6. Pour in your vegetable stock, and any extra water to achieve your desired soup consistency. You may need 1 less or 1 more cup of stock/water depending on the size of your pumpkin and how thick you like your soup. I usually go for an approx. two fingers width more water than pumpkin. Stir until combined. (once blended the soup will thicken slightly so I err on the side of a tiny bit watery).
7. Place a lid on your pot and bring the soup to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Stirring occasionally, cook for 20 mins until the soup is tasty and bubbling.
8. Remove from heat and using a stick blender/food processor/potato masher blitz your soup until smooth and the texture you like. Once blended, stir through the cup of cooking cream.

Serve hot with a side of bread and butter. Enjoy!