Denise says:
Soup is an ‘in’ food these days and it is now almost as stable an office lunch menu item as a sandwich. A warming bowl of soup is a healthy way of filling up and can be highly nutritious ingredients for either lunch or supper.
The essence of a good soup is it’s stock as well as good quality ingredients. This month’s recipe I have used Pumpkin which is one of the more widely used winter squashes. It will keep for several weeks until it is cut open and is delicious cooked to a mash, drained and beaten together with cream and nutmeg. It also goes well with apples. For a change add some pumpkin to apple pie or diced apple in pumpkin soup. The seeds are edible, with a delicate flavour (to prepare - rinse, spread on a baking sheet and dry in a low oven); use as a salad topping, stir fry or add to breakfast muesli.
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Serves 6
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons – olive oil3 cloves of garlic – peeled and finely chopped
2 red onions – peeled and roughly chopped
175g (6 oz) baby leeks or 2 small leeks – trimmed and roughly chopped
675g (1 1/2 lb) Pumpkin – peeled and cubed
3 carrots – peeled and finely sliced
1 litre (1 ¾ pints) vegetable stock
Salt and Freshly Ground Black pepper – to taste
Method
1)Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and onions and sauté for 2 minutes until softened2)Add the chopped leeks, pumpkin, carrots. Continue to sauté for a further to 5 minutes.
3)Add the stock and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
To serve the Stylish Way: Ladle the hot soup into warmed bowls or for a change serve inside the hollowed out shell of an acorn squash or similar squash from the gourd family.