Roast pumpkin and chilli soup - Perfect Autumn warmer

It's that time of year again, Halloween will soon be upon us, and that means one thing in our household, it's pumpkin picking time. Yes this time next week I will be getting dragged round a freezing cold, wet, muddy field, fighting over a half rotten pumpkin with another poor father in order to spend hours scraping the flesh out of the thing before attempting to carve it into the most horrific looking face that I can imagine.

It will of course end up looking like a crooked smiley face and I will end up with more holes in my hands than in the pumpkin. My son will of course think it is the best thing since sliced bread.

This recipe is the one saving grace from the whole thing, with a little bit of heat from the chili and the sweetness of the roast pumpkin flesh, this creamy soup is just the thing to warm you back up and get you feeling human again. So grin and bear the whole pumpkin picking thing as there is a great supper dish waiting at the other end.

3 banana shallots, peeled and roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic

1 red chili

The flesh of 1 large pumpkin

75ml olive oil

1 lt vegetable stock

1 tbls creme fraiche

Place the shallots, garlic, chili and pumpkin on a large roasting tin and toss it in the olive oil. Roast the lot in a pre-heated oven at 170c for 35 minutes. Place it in a pan with the vegetable stock and simmer for 15 minuets. Puree until smooth and finish with a little creme fraiche.

#soup #supper