Spiced Pumpkin Soup

If you need a healthy and delicious way to use up your pumpkin after Halloween then have a go at this quick and easy soup full of warming spices. 

DIFFICULTY: 1/5

Serves 4 

• 1 Medium Pumpkin

• 1 Red Onion

• 1 Leek

• 2 Shallots

• 1 Clove of Smoked Garlic

• 1 Clove of Garlic (or two if you can't get smoked garlic)

• 1 Stick of Celery

• 1/2-1 Red Chilli (depending on how spicy you want your soup!)

• 1 tsp Ras-El-Hanout

• 1 tsp Cumin

• Handful of Flat Leaf Parsley

• 500ml Vegetable Stock

• 1tbsp Rapeseed Oil

• Black Pepper to season

Takes 5 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes cooking on the hob

1. Peel and deseed the pumpkin then chop into small chunks.

2. Chop the onion, leek, shallots, garlic and celery.

3. Heat the rapeseed oil in a saucepan. Add the red onion, leeks and shallots and stir fry for a few minutes until softened. Add the garlic and fry for another 30 seconds.

4. Add the celery and soften for a couple of minutes before adding the chopped pumpkin.

5. Add the chilli, ras el hanout, cumin and flat leaf parsley and stir everything around.

6. Season with black pepper then add the vegetable stock. Bring to the boil and then leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables have softened.

7. Remove from the heat and blitz until smooth with a hand blender.

8. Serve with a garnish of flat leaf parsley and some crusty bread on the side!