Souper!

This year, much to my delight, Winter has arrived a lot earlier than expected in Cape Town. My sister says, that being born in a particular season affects not only one’s personality but obviously how we take to the elements in that particular season, and me, being a Winter baby, I absolutely relish at the advent of Winter. Don’t get me wrong there’s nothing better than a perfect beach day with the sand in between your toes and ice cream melting everywhere. So to celebrate the start of Winter, today is such a lovely rainy and overcast day, and of course I crave something warm and comforting.

The photo above, is a Pumpkin and Leek Soup with Chunky Croutons, pumpkin seeds and pomegranate seeds to garnish and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil with a pinch of salt.

The recipe is developed by myself and is rather unconventional for a soup recipe, but in my kitchen there aren’t any rules.

Recipe:

1.5kg of Pumpkin cut into chunks
2 leeks washed thoroughly and roughly chopped
1 large onion
4 cloves of garlic smashed and roughly chopped
1.5 liters of water to cover contents in the pot
500ml Vegetable or chicken stock(I find chicken stock makes the soup that much richer in flavour)

Method:

On a medium heat, sauté the onion and leek and then garlic in Extra Virgin Olive Oil. When the onion is translucent, add the pumpkin and leave to caramelize for 5-10 minutes. Add vegetable/chicken stock and water. Allow to simmer on a medium to low heat for 25-30 minutes or until the pumpkin has a really soft consistency. If you own a stick blender, blend to a smooth consistency or if like me, you like your soup chunky, serve with crisp croutons. To make the croutons, take a slice of bread and tear into chunks, heat olive oil in a pan on a medium to high heat to toast the croutons, once a toasty golden to brown colour is achieved, add to the soup and serve hot.

Enjoy!

Wishing you all a warm and wonderful winter x