I love Autumn

With autumn comes many cozy indoor and outdoor days. It's such a beautiful time of year and I love dressing up all warm and snug to take a walk through the forest or sit in the afternoon sun while the girls draw with sidewalk chalk. I also love to start making comfort food treats and pumpkin seems to be the theme of the season. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin, ricotta and sage lasagne and of course pumpkin soup. Yum. I bought a huge pumpkin yesterday and made a big pot of soup for dinner tonight. It freezes well, so we'll have a couple of extra lunch and dinner meals. I thought I'd share the recipe I used today. It's really yummy.


Pumpkin Soup

4 tbsp olive oil
3 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
2 kg pumpkin or squash, peeled, deseeded and chopped into chunks (I also love to roast it--cut into wedges with skin on, sprinkle with olive oil, brown sugar and sea salt. bake for 40 mins. cool and peel. chop and add to the soup pot)
700ml vegetable stock
nutmeg, 2 cinnamon sticks, salt and pepper to taste
250 ml cream

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot, then gently cook the onions and garlic for 5 minutes, until soft but not coloured. Add the pumpkin (either raw or cooked, depending on your preference from above) to the pot, then carry on cooking for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until it starts to soften and turn golden.
2. Pour the stock into the pot, season. Bring to the boil, then simmer for anything up to 45 minutes until pumpkin is very soft.
3. Puree with a hand blender until smooth. Add cream and stir.
4. Serve with some warm, crusty bread. Top with roasted pumpkin seeds and croutons.

This can be made a day ahead and stored in an airtight container.