Creamy Pumpkin Soup

Warm up your winter with this classic creamy pumpkin soup! For a truly flavourful experience, start by roasting your pumpkin with garlic. Here's a pro tip: if your soup turns out too thin, just add a diced potato and let it cook through. Blend with an immersion blender to achieve a perfect, thick consistency. This hearty soup is also a great way to sneak in extra veggies for the kids during the colder months. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 kg of pumpkin, I like to use a combination of Jap and Kent Pumpkins, cut into large chunks and skin removed 

2 leeks, finely sliced (white parts only)

3 cloves of garlic

300ml thickened light cooking cream

20g salted butter

1- 2 Tbs Olive Oil

1.5 L chicken stock (I like the Massel brand stock cubes for a cheap and convenient option)

salt and pepper

(optional - if required to give a thicker soup 1-2 peeled diced potatoes)

Directions:

Heat oven to 180 degrees C (fan forced) and line a baking tray with baking paper. Peel pumpkin, remove any seeds and roughly chop into large chunks. Smash garlic cloves, remove skin and add to a large bowl with your chopped pumpkin. Toss in olive oil and arrange in a single layer over prepared baking tray. Bake for around 40 mins at 180 or until golden and tender. 

Meanwhile, prepare leeks by washing and then thinly slicing the white part only. Heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat then add leeks. Turn heat down to low and cover with lid. Sweat the leeks for around 5 mins or until they have tuned very soft. 

Add roasted pumpkin and garlic to leeks, then cover with 1.5 litres of chicken stock. Bring to the boil and then reduce heat to medium low and simmer for around 15 mins to develop flavours. Allow to cool slightly before blitzing with a stick blender. Stir through light cream and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to desired taste. If your soup is not as thick as you like it, you can now add in 1 -2 diced peeled potatoes - allow them to cook through and then blitz again with your stick blender.

Serve with a crusty loaf of bread.