Roast pumpkin soup

Roasting the pumpkin gives a better result, but it is not absolutely necessary for this warming
Mexican-flavoured autumnal soup. From the Riverford Farm Cookbook, available on the
farm shop bookshelves.

Ingredients (serves 6-8)

• 1 pumpkin or squash (about 1.5 kg), peeled, deseeded and cut into 2cm cubes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
• 400g can of tomatoes
• 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
• 425g can of red kidney beans, drained
• 2 cooked corn cobs or small can sweetcorn
• 1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce juice of 1 lime
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To garnish:

• 100g tortilla chips, crushed
• 75g cheese, grated – try Sparkenhoe Red Leicester for its sweet nutty flavour
• 2 tablespoons chopped coriander
• 1 ripe avocado, peeled, diced and tossed with the juice of 2 limes

Method

Place the pumpkin cubes on a roasting tray and toss them with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil
and some salt & pepper. Place in an oven preheated to 180°C/Gas Mark 4 and roast for 40
minutes, until slightly coloured.

Meanwhile, heat the rest of the olive oil in a large pan, add the onions and cook for 20
minutes, until tender and slightly caramelised. Stir in the paprika, garlic and chillies and cook
for 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, simmer for 15 minutes or until reduced and thick, then stir
in the roast pumpkin. Purée with a hand blender, slowly adding the stock until well combined.
Bring to the boil and add the kidney beans and the sweetcorn kernels. Season well, adding
chilli sauce and lime juice to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Before serving, add half the garnish ingredients and fold them through the soup, then scatter
the rest on top.