Soup for a chilly night

Hi everyone

Today I felt like soup. I could have done the hard work and made it from absolute scratch or I could have gone for the canned stuff. I went for a middle ground. Spiced pumpkin, kumara, and bacon soup.

Ingredients

500 gm bag of frozen peeled pumpkin 
300 gms of frozen kumara peeled
2 litres of vegetable stock or mix it up with 1 litre of vege and 1 of chicken
2 or 3 bacon pieces or if you prefer 6 slices of bacon chopped up
2 tablespoons of pre made harissa or thai green curry paste
Salt and pepper
handful of fresh coriander chopped up

So if you are using bacon slices put some oil in a large sauce pan and over medium heat cook the bacon. If you are using big pieces then skip frying it as it will slow cook with the veges.

After the bacon is fried add the stock and the veges and simmer for 30 mins. If using the pieces of bacon add the bacon to the stock with the veges and cook for an hour till the bacon is soft.

At this point, if using, take out the bacon pieces and chop into small 2cm chunks. Set aside.

Mash the veges and if the soup is still too thin, make a roux of 50 gms melted butter and 3 tablespoons plain flour in another large saucepan. The mixture should bubble but don't let it burn. Add the thin soup by the ladle full slowly and whisk to thicken and stir out any roux lumps.  The soup should be lovely and thickened by the time you are finished.  If you are using bacon pieces add the chunks now and stir. Add the harissa (if you want a moroccan type spice) or the thai curry paste and stir. Taste and see if you want to add more. Simmer for 5 minutes till the flour is well and truly cooked through.

Check seasoning at this point as the bacon can be salty so you don't want to add more until its all combined. If you think the soup is too thick you might want to add some coconut cream and stir through. Finally place in bowls and sprinkle over some coriander.

Enjoy xx