Extra virgin olive oilIf you prefer a less expensive oil, rapeseed or sunflower oil work too.
Salt
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower seeds
Ground Nutmeg
Instructions
First of all, preheat your oven on the fan settings at 180 degrees centigrade. Wash the pumpkin, deseed, and cut into medium chunks leaving the skin on. Make sure the chunks all are similar in size for even cooking. Cover a large baking tray with baking paper and evenly distribute the pumpkin chunks on the tray.
Drizzle with Extra virgin olive oil, add salt to your taste and toast in the oven for 20-25 minutes, flip the chunks over halfway through the baking to make sure both sides of the pumpkin pieces "caramelise".
Once the pumpkin is fully cooked, remove from the over and leave to cool for 30 minutes. After this time has passed, you can peel the pumpkin skin off. It should come off easily after baking, if not use a small knife to make small cuts around the harder parts. Once the pumpkin chunks have had all the skin removed, measure 150-200g of pumpkin and set aside.
Cut half a small onion into small chunks and add to a medium pot - I usually prefer the red onion because it's less aggressive on my gut but I believe the white onion fits this recipe better. Add a splash of oil and saulté the onion for 3 minutes on medium heat. To avoid pan-frying it I always add a bit of water with the oil - it helps get rid of the onion's strong acidity while still keeping its taste.
While the onion cooks, peel two small potatoes - or one medium - and cut into small pieces. Once the onion starts browning, add the pumpkin chunks, the potatoes, half a teaspoon of your vegetable stock of choice and saulté all the ingredients for another 3 minutes. If the mix is dry, add a splash of water to help the stock coat the pumpkin and potato chunks.
Once the pumpkins and potatoes are coated and the flavours have fully mixed, add 200ml of water. Make sure to add enough to submerge the chunks to help reach the perfect creamy consistency later on. Cover with a lid and leave to cook at low-medium heat for 15 minutes, checking occasionally to ensure the water is not running too low.
After 15 minutes, use a fork or skewer to poke the potatoes to see if they're cooked. If they are take the pot off the heat and leave to cook for a couple of minutes. Use your immersion blender - or any available blender - to thoroughly blend the mixture. The result should be a smooth creamy orange paste.
To serve, I like to sprinkle with olive oil, pumpkin and sunflower seeds and add a little ground nutmeg to enhance the earthy flavour of the pumpkin. Your Creamy Roasted Pumpkin Soup is ready, enjoy!
Keyword earthy, extra virgin olive oil, GERD free, GORD free, grana cheese, healthy, Nutmeg, Pumpkin, vegan