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Maple Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Butternut (my favourite pumpkin variety) is in season during the colder months, so it’s made it’s way into lots of warming meals, like this pumpkin soup!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Course Appetizer and Starters, Lunch, Soups and Salad
Servings 2
Calories 562 kcal
Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, Vegetarian

Ingredients
  

Soup

  • 1.2 kg butternut or pumpkin peeled and cut into 3cm chunks
  • 1 red onion cut into 2cm wedges
  • ½ small bulb garlic cut the bulb of garlic in half horizontally
  • 1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup
  • ½ tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 ½ teaspoons thyme leaves
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 ½ – 2 cups hot chicken stock
  • 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

To serve

  • 100 g haloumi cheese cut into 1cm-thick slices
  • ½ red chilli finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons mint leaves 2 sliced
  • ¼ cup natural thick greek yoghurt
  • flat-leaf parsley or coriander/cilantro finely chopped

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 220°C/430 Fahrenheit. Line an oven tray with baking paper.
  • Toss butternut, onion and garlic with maple syrup, olive oil, ground cumin and thyme leaves. Season well with salt and pepper and roast for 40-45 minutes or until butternut and onion is soft and caramelised.
  • Transfer roast butternut and onion to a blender. Squeeze out 2-3 cloves of the roast garlic and add to the blender. Pour in 1 ½ – 2 cups of chicken stock and blend until smooth. Add more chicken stock if needed, until you get the consistency you want. Season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
  • Heat a drizzle of oil in a fry pan on medium heat and cook haloumi for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown. Chop haloumi into cubes and toss with chilli and mint.
  • To serve, ladle into bowls, or re-heat in a pot on the stovetop if needed. Serve with a good dollop of natural yoghurt, and the haloumi with mint and chilli on the top.

Notes

Roasting your veggies first before blitzing into a soup creates a much more flavourful outcome than simply boiling, and brings out the amazing sweetness in those root veggies. The maple syrup helps the vegetables caramelise in the oven, for even more flavour. Instead of the haloumi, you can use little cubes of chorizo or crispy bacon if you like, or nothing at all, this pumpkin soup is delicious as is!
This soup is extra delicious with my kumara bread on the side for dipping.