Three Autumn Soups

Pumpkin & bacon soup, Creamy pumpkin & lentil soup, Butternut squash soup with chilli & crème fraîche. Soup so warming to come home to this time of year so I have added 2 for today.

Pumpkin & bacon soup

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil

50g butter

1 onion, finely chopped

150g maple-cured bacon, cut into small pieces

½ Crown Prince pumpkin or onion squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into medium chunks (you need about 500g pumpkin flesh)

1l chicken stock

100ml double cream

3 tbsp pumpkin seeds, toasted

maple syrup, for drizzling

Method

In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, heat the oil with 25g butter. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook on a low heat for 10 mins or until soft. Add 60g bacon and cook for a further 5 mins until the bacon releases its fat. Then increase the heat to medium, add the pumpkin and stock and season. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for about 40 mins until the pumpkin is soft. Pour in the cream, bring to the boil again and remove from the heat. Set aside some of the liquid, then blend the remaining pumpkin until smooth and velvety, adding liquid back into the pan bit by bit as you go (add more liquid if you like it thinner). Strain through a fine sieve, check the seasoning and set aside.

Melt the remaining butter in a pan over a high heat and fry the rest of the bacon with black pepper for 5 mins. Divide the bacon between four bowls, reheat the soup and pour over. To serve, sprinkle over the pumpkin seeds and drizzle with maple syrup.

Creamy pumpkin & lentil soup

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil, plus 1 tsp

2 onion, chopped

2 garlic clove, chopped

approx 800g chopped pumpkinflesh, plus the seeds

100g split red lentil

½ small pack thyme, leaves picked, plus extra to serve

1l hot vegetable stock

pinch of salt and sugar

50g crème fraîche, plus extra to serve

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan. Fry the onions until softened and starting to turn golden. Stir in the garlic, pumpkin flesh, lentils and thyme, then pour in the hot stock. Season, cover and simmer for 20-25 mins until the lentils and vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile, wash the pumpkin seeds. Remove any flesh still clinging to them, then dry them with kitchen paper. Heat the 1 tsp oil in a non-stick pan and fry the seeds until they start to jump and pop. Stir frequently, but cover the pan in between to keep them in it. When the seeds look nutty and toasted, add a sprinkling of salt and a pinch of sugar, and stir well.

Whizz the cooked pumpkin mixture with a hand blender or in a food processor until smooth, then add the crème fraîche and whizz again. Taste for seasoning.

Serve with a spoonful of crème fraîche, a few thyme leaves and the toasted seeds scattered on top.

Butternut squash soup with chilli & crème fraîche

Ingredients

1 butternut squash, about 1kg, peeled and deseeded

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

2 onions, diced

1 garlic clove, thinly sliced

2 mild red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

850ml hot vegetable stock

4 tbsp crème fraîche, plus more to serve

Method

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Cut the squash into large cubes, about 4cm/1½in across, then toss in a large roasting tin with half the olive oil. Roast for 30 mins, turning once during cooking, until golden and soft.

While the squash cooks, melt the butter with the remaining oil in a large saucepan, then add the onions, garlic and ¾ of the chilli. Cover and cook on a very low heat for 15-20 mins until the onions are completely soft.

Tip the squash into the pan, add the stock and the crème fraîche, then whizz with a stick blender until smooth. For a really silky soup, put the soup into a liquidiser and blitz it in batches. Return to the pan, gently reheat, then season to taste. Serve the soup in bowls with swirls of crème fraîche and a scattering of the remaining chopped chilli.