As we head into autumn, colder days and darker nights here’s a seasonal soup recipe to help warm you up. Pumpkins are highly nutritious, packed with immunity boosting vitamins and minerals, also readily available at this time of year so why not whip up a batch to warm you up on a lunchtime or to store and freeze for later…

INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

One medium pumpkin

1 large white onion, chopped

4 large or 6 medium garlic cloves, pressed or minced

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

⅛ teaspoon cloves

Tiny dash of cayenne pepper (optional, if you like spice)

Freshly ground black pepper

600ml Vegetable Stock

1 Tin of full fat coconut milk

2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey

¼ cup Pumpkin seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup. Carefully halve the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds.

2. Slice each pumpkin halve in half to make quarters. Brush or rub 1 tablespoon olive oil over the flesh of the pumpkin and place the quarters, cut sides down, onto the baking sheet. Roast for 35 minutes or longer, until the orange flesh is easily pierced through with a fork. Set it aside to cool for a few minutes.

3. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add onion, garlic and salt to the pan. Stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. In the meantime, peel the pumpkin skin off the pumpkins and discard the skin.

4. Add the pumpkin flesh, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cayenne pepper (if using), and a few twists of freshly ground black pepper. Use your stirring spoon to break up the pumpkin a bit. Pour in the broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, to give the flavors time to meld.

5. While the soup is cooking, toast the pumpkin seeds in a medium frying pan over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, golden and making little popping noises. You want them to be nice and toasty, but not burnt. Transfer seeds to a bowl to cool.

6. Once the pumpkin mixture is done cooking, stir in the coconut milk and maple syrup. Remove the soup from heat and let it cool slightly. You can use an immersion blender to blend this soup in the pot. In batches, transfer the contents of the pan to a blender. Securely fasten the blender’s lid and use a kitchen towel to protect your hand from steam escaping from the top of the blender as you purée the mixture until smooth. Transfer the puréed soup to a serving bowl and repeat with the remaining batches.

7. Taste and adjust if necessary (I thought the soup was just right as is, but you might want to add more coconut milk for extra creaminess/milder flavor, or maple syrup to make it a little sweeter).

8. Ladle the soup into individual bowls. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds over the soup and serve. Let leftover soup cool completely before transferring it to a proper storage container and refrigerating it for up to 4 days. Or, freeze this soup for up to 3 months.