By Ellie Philips

Soup season has rolled around again and there is something immensely comforting about standing by the warmth of the stove and watching a soup splutter and thicken into life.  The glut of root veg at this time of year gives way to sweet, earthy flavours and opulent colours, a fitting transition from the punchier tangs of summer.  This pumpkin and coconut soup is a simple way of making good use of your pumpkin this Halloween, and bringing some warmth into the more dreary autumn days.  

Serves: 4

Soup Ingredients

1 pumpkin (cut into 2cm cubes)

3 brown onions (roughly chopped)

6 cloves of garlic (roughly chopped)

1 tin of full fat coconut milk

VG stock (around 500ml)

2 ½ tsp medium curry powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp yellow mustard seeds

1 tsp mixed herbs

Breadcrumb topping ingredients

A few slices of thick, slightly stale, crusty bread

A handful of fresh sage leaves (finely chopped)

Method

1. Sauté the onions in olive oil at a medium heat until soft and translucent (around 10 minutes).
2. Add the garlic and mustard seeds to the pan and fry for a further 5 minutes.
3. Next, tip in the pumpkin, all the spices and salt and pepper, stirring thoroughly to ensure the mixture is well coated.
4. Make up a jug of VG stock and pour it into the pan, letting the mixture simmer.
5. After a few minutes of simmering, add the coconut milk, swilling out the tin with a little bit of boiling water and adding that too.
6. Leave the soup to simmer at a low heat for 30 minutes or so before blending with a hand-held processor.
7. Set the soup to the side and turn to your bread.
8. Tear up the bread roughly and whiz it in a food processor to form breadcrumbs (if you don’t have a food processor it’s possible to achieve a similar effect with a grater).
9. Warm a small frying pan with oil and fry the breadcrumbs and sage for a few minutes until crisp and golden, adding salt and pepper to taste.
10. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mix over the soup to serve.