Cat Pumpkin
I love this time of year. October is one of the best month’s for me. I love Pumpkins, Halloween and the lead up to Firework night. As these things involve alot of seeing friends and family, i naturally turn to what i’m going to make gluten free food-wise to celebrate. We carved our pumpkin this year into a rather sketchy cat face… we had a bit of difficultly getting the teeth right but i think we got there in the end. Miko clearly wanted to know if this was a representation of himself as he sat by the carving process.
There are so many great things about soup that i could write about but the ultimate reasons i feel that soup is so great is because it is frugal, easy, adaptable and comforting. I find all of those in combination to be also healing. The number one way to warm the heart and the body before you head out to watch the fireworks light the sky, or indeed to sip from a flask in gloves and several layers as you watch the crackles appear. Maybe you’ll be heading out with the kids to go trick or treating, in which case you better get something in them that’s healthy before the inevitable sugar consumption makes headway.
On this occasion it was getting the most out of the huge pumpkin as we could as well as making something that would be a bit different to our endless ham and cheese sandwich pitfall of work lunches. Put the effort in at the beginning of the week and you’ll have a quick easy gluten free soup to pop into a container all throughout the week. The colds and flu have been going around the office and commute, so in the worry that i will probably be sick by the end of the month i’m gonna hit on the veggies, garlic, chilli as much as i can.
This soup may be a tad spicy for some, i would advise testing your chilli before you add it into the mix and also changing the type of chilli if you find birds eye chilli’s a tad too much. This soup is a fiery one but the sweetness of the Romano pepper and Pumpkin make it a nice balance instead of the chilli hitting you in the face completely. I love to add a dollop of cream or Crème Fraîche in at the end to swirl into the soup with a garlicy crouton. Top with some roasted pumpkin seeds and some grated parmasen and it’s a complete meal; one for all those feel good or what-to-feel-good moments.
- The inside of 1 Pumpkin (Around 800 grams)
- 2 Large Romano Peppers
- 2 Red Peppers
- 2 Medium Carrots
- 3 Red Onions
- 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil and a bit for gluging
- 1 Birds Eye Chilli
- 3 cloves of Garlic
- Tablespoon of Paprika or Smoked Paprika
- 700ml Gluten Free Vegetable Stock
- Crème Fraîche (Optional)
- Open up the lid of the pumpkin carefully with a knife- i got the husband to do this as i lack any arm strength. Scoop out the seeds and place them on a pan to roast with some olive oil, paprika and Salt and Pepper for 30min at 180 degrees if you fancy keeping them to eat. Get rid of any orange piff and measure out around 800grams of the bright yellowy flesh inside. Don’t worry if it’s just slices or small cubes.
- Cut up your pumpkin carrots, peppers, 2 of the red onions and lay these on one large or two small roasting trays. Glug over some olive oil and some salt and pepper and pop into the preheated 180d oven for around 30-35 mins. Continually turning the veggies until they are soft in the middle- when the carrots are soft- it’s done. Take the pans out and set aside.
- Cut up the remaining red onion, 3 cloves of garlic and chilli (Birds Eye chilli’s are HOT so add the appropriate amount you desire) and put them into a deep stock pan on a medium heat for 5 mins. Add in your roasted vegetables and 1 table spoon of paprika or smoked paprika.
- Add 500ml of vegetable stock to the pan, add some salt and pepper and pop on a lid. Leave to simmer on a low heat for 15 mins.
- Taste test your soupy mixture and alter if necessary.
- When the veg has softened well add the soup mixture to a unit blender or get a hand blender and whizz it until it is smooth.
- Put back on a low heat while you make any croutons to go with.
- Serve with some garlicy croutons or the toasted pumpkin seeds scattered on top! I like to dollop on a massive spoon of crème fraîche as it works wonders with the chilli.
- You can freeze this mixture well. Allow to cool completely and transfer to tupperware or freezable bags.
Enjoy WB x
