Happy Halloween!

Chris carved a pumpkin in my kitchen for Halloween. Before he cut the face into it he scooped out as much of the pumpkin flesh (not the stringy bits!) as possible so that we could make homemade pumpkin soup for dinner. It was delicious and I now have a carved pumpkin on the window sill. I roasted the seeds as well - when you're a student you're always up for getting a lot of bang for your buck!

Here's the recipe for the soup with our changes/substitutions. The original is from BBC Good Food.

Pumpkin Soup
1 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
1kg pumpkin, chopped into chunks
700ml chicken stock
salt and pepper
1/2 tbsp curry powder
142ml creme fraiche
handful roasted pumpkin seeds

1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until soft.
2. Add the pumpkin and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. It will be soft and turn slightly more golden.
3. Add the stock and season with salt and pepper, then add the curry powder. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes until the pumpkin is very soft.
4. Add the creme fraiche and bring back to the boil. Blend with a hand blender.
5. Serve hot and scattered with roasted pumpkin seeds.

According to the website, it can also be frozen for up to 2 months. This made enough for both of us to have for dinner last night (a good hearty serving!) and again for lunch today as well as a single portion which is sitting in my freezer for another cold day.