Hearty autumn soup – pumpkin and chorizo

How can you resist the gorgeous colours of pumpkins or squash this autumn? Now Halloween is over, get your hand blender out and make this hearty spiced soup. Meat and veg. in one, a meal in itself.

Want vegetarian pumpkin soup?

Just take the chorizo out and replace it with some cayenne or spice of your choice.

Or

Head over to our other vegetarian butternut squash soup recipe made with tinned coconut milk, tinned tomatoes and a few fragrant spices. Replace the squash with pumpkin if you like. It’s super simple.

Tips

in your store cupboard: use the shop bought green pumpkin seeds for sprinkling on top and save the roasted ones for a snack !

mise en place: pre-roast your pumpkin or squash, and leave it in the fridge to use for your soup!

serving suggestion: add a little green herb like parsley..if thats not too over the top!

Servings : 6    |   Prep Time : 60 mins     |    Cooking  Time : 40 mins     |   Difficulty : 1/5

Kitchen tools

chopping board and sharp knife

Hand blender or counter-top liquidiser blender

Roasting tin or pyrex dish

Heavy based deep saucepan

variations

No roasting…then toast the seeds in a pan on the stove, and instead of roasting the vegetables just boil them all in the pan with the water and pepper. You may want to add the stock cube in this case to replace the extra special flavour that roasting gives to the pumpkin and onion.  

Too thick… add water or a liquid vegetable or meat stock

Too thin… add more chickpeas or cooked potatoes. If its tasting too watery, then add some heavy cream and mix in. save some to swirl on top!

Want more veggies…just add some cauliflower, or potatoes, or leeks.

Method

Step 1

Chop the pumpkin, carrot and onion into chunks (make them all a similar size, about 1 inch each). Remove the pumpkin seeds. If your pumpkin is getting old then peel off the skin… if not, just wash and use it !

Lay on a roasting tin or pyrex dish, season. Drizzle with the olive oil, and seasoning. Spread the pumpkin seeds onto a shallow roasting tray, sprinkle with olive oil and seasoning.

Roast the pumpkin at 180C / 350 F for up to 40mins..until soft browned and juicy.

Step 2

Meanwhile put pint of cold water in a pan, chop the pepper roughly and pop it in. Add heat and simmer until the pepper is soft. Then turn it off.

Step 3

Crush the garlic. (Just chop the ends off while the skin is on, and flatten them with the side of your sharp chopping knife. The skin will just fall off. Then chop as roughly and finely as you can.)

Step 4

Chop the chorizo into cubes and sauté until cooked through with the garlic. Add the washed and drained chickpeas near the end.

Step 5

Put your results from steps 1. 2. 3. together into the pan with the water and pepper.  Purée with a hand blender until smooth.TASTE and adjust.

Step 6

Add the ingredients from step 4. Little by little adding the chorizo and blend and taste as you go. Save some chorizo for sprinkling on the soup bowls if you like!

Step 7

Heat the soup up, adding more water if necessary. Check the seasoning, then serve.

You shouldn’t need the stock cube but if your soup is lacking in depth then use one. Be careful not to add extra salt if you are using the stock  / bouillon though as its usually salty enough.