Serves 4 as a main course with bread or 6-8 as a starter.
Nearly all the ingredients in this soup were unknown to us prior to the discovery of the Americas. All can be grown quite easily in the UK (and much of Europe) and are a welcome treat when the weather starts to turn as the summer ends.
Ingredients
500g/1lb of Pumpkin and/or Butternut Squash (1/2 LB 250g of each)
1/2 a Courgette or 1 small
corn from 1 corn on the cob or 1/2 a can or 2 tablespoons of frozen corn
1 Medium Potatoes or 2 new potatoes
4 tomatoes chopped or 1/2 a can of tomatoes
1 Chilli (optional) or half a teaspoon of chilli powder
Half a teaspoon of Coriander or half a small bunch of fresh coriander
1 1/2 pints of chicken or vegetable stock or water
A little oil (Tablespoon) pref. rape seed/vegetable oil
Method
- Deseed peel and chop the pumpkin and/or squash and peel and chop the potatoes, (see healthier living tip)
- Chop the chilli if using and the courgette and fry in a the oil for two minutes until the courgette is softened
- Add the pumpkin/squash and the potato then cover with the stock
- Bring to the boil
- Simmer for 10 minutes and add the tomatoes and if using the dried spices
- Cook through until the potato is soft enough to crumble when poked with a knife
- Use a potato masher or food processor to puree the ingredients – See Dave’s Tip
- Add the corn and coriander and cook for a further 5-10 minutes if using fresh or 2-3 if using canned or frozen
- Serve
Dave’s tip – If you prefer chunkier soup then leave out step 7.
Healthier Living Tip – Pumpkin seeds are very nutritious they can be toasted for 2 minutes in a dry pan then eaten as a snack or put into salads.
Article written by Dave Hamilton. Dave has now left Selfsufficientish but you can catch up with him on davehamilton.me.uk or on twitter @davewildish
