Soup for slender spooks

31 October 2007

FEELING wicked but discovered that you look more like a pumpkin than a broomstick? Halloween pumpkin carving won't use up many calories, but the delicious fleshy innards can be made into healthy treats to trim your waistline. And until they take effect, seek comfort in the fact that, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the largest pumpkin ever grown weighed more than 107 stone (1,502 lbs) in weight - almost certainly heavier than you. Long ago, pumpkins were recommended as a cure for snake bites, but the Recorder urges you not to test this theory out... even for Halloween.

Pumpkin Soup

Serves up to eight

Cooking and preparation takes two hours

Ingredients

Flesh of four hollowed medium pumpkins or two whole ones, either diced or as it is scraped out

Two onions, chopped

Two carrots, chopped

A leek, slices thinly

Six prunes (optional)

A bay leaf or two

Five cloves of garlic, thinly slices

Two medium waxy potatoes, diced

Olive oil

A cinnamon stick

Powdered nutmeg, ginger, coriander, turmeric and cumin to taste (about 1tsp of each)

1tsp each of chilli flakes and thyme - or two fresh birds eye chillies and several sprigs of thyme

Water or vegetable stock

Salt and pepper to taste

You could also add some butternut squash if you like a sweeter soup, or some swede.

Snot and witches' hair (or baby spinach and half-fat crème fraiche) to serve

Method

Use your largest pan.

Fry the onions, leeks and garlic in the oil over a low heat for a few minutes (and the chillies if using fresh). Add the carrots, pumpkin, potatoes and any other hard vegetable you are using. Fry for a few minutes and add the water or stock. Bring to the boil and turn down to a very gentle simmer. Add the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, thyme, dry chilli, prunes salt and pepper.

If you find you have too much pumpkin, you could roast it with some salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon juice to make a salad for the next day.

Dry-fry the spices until they smell strong and pleasant, and have become slightly darker in colour. Add them to the soup pan. Leave the soup on a very low heat until all the vegetables are cooked through. At this stage you can put half of the vegetable in a blender to give the soup a thicker consistency if desired. When they are pureed, return to the pan and heat through again.

Five minutes before serving, add the witches' hair, if using and pick out the bay leaf and cinnamon stick.

Serve with a dollop of snot and some granary bread.