Pumpkin Soup

I agreed with my mum (Elly) that I would type this recipe up for her about 2 weeks ago (when it was the food Friday soup recipe thing!) and unfortunately never got around to it. She's coming back from a few days away today, so I guess I'd better type it up quick!

serves 4-6
cooking time: 35-40 mins
preparation time: 10-15 mins

60 ml Olive Oil
2 medium onions, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp sage
1.25 kg pumpkin, peeled and deseeded
1 carrot, chopped
3 sticks of celery, chopped
Red chilli, finely chopped, seeds and all
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tsp ground allspice
A pinch on cinnamon
2 litres water (we're not entirely sure about this - it ended up pretty runny, but then my mum isn't sure we had as much pumpkin as they suggested, so perhaps use your own judgement when adding the water!)

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and add the onions. Sweat over a medium heat for 5 minutes until the onions have started softening. Add the garlic and sage, and cook for a while longer until the onions have started releasing their sugars and the garlic has started filling the kitchen with a lovely smell.

At this point add the rest of the aromatic vegetables, the carrots and celery, with the pumpkin, chilli, cinnamon and allspice. Season generously with a few teaspoons of salt and freshly ground pepper and throw in a couple of bay leaves.

Carry on sweating the vegetables until the pumpkin has started to soften. Pour over the water and bring to the simmering point.

Simmer the vegetables until they are soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. Blend with a stick blender to create minimal washing*.

We served the soup with a few roasted hazelnuts and grated cheese on the top.

* Be careful with the blender, because if you get distracted, disastrous things can happen. Not that we'd be talking from experience, or anything.