Prep Time 10 minutes - Total Time 1 hour 2 minutes - Serves 4
It’s cold, dark and there are pumpkins everywhere so it would be rude not to make soup.
Pumpkin and sweetcorn work so well together, especially when you top it off with some crispy bacon bits and a few chilli flakes.
Ingredients
1 medium pumpkin, cut into quarter moons.
1 large onion, roughly diced.
3 large corncobs or a large tin of sweetcorn.
Chilli flakes to taste, optional.
700 ml of chicken stock.
4 pieces of smoked streaky bacon.
Double cream for garnishing.
Method
Place the pumpkin into a roasting tray (or two), drizzle with enough oil to coat and season. Roast in a preheated oven at 180° for 45 minutes or till tender. Once done place to one side.
Take 2 of the corncobs and carefully remove the corn from the cob. Add the corn to a large saucepan along with the onions and season. Add a good drizzle of oil and cook over a low heat till the onions are soft, around 10 minutes. If you are using tin corn save some for garnishing.
Next, remove the pumpkin flesh from the skin and add it to the onions. If you are using chilli flakes now is the time to added them.
Now, pour in the stock and allow to simmer while you cook the bacon and the last corncob.
For the bacon cook till crispy, either in a frying pan, under a grill or in the oven. Once done diced up into little pieces or strips. At the same time cook the corn in boiling water for 10 minutes then drain.
Once the corn is cooked what you want to do is get a good char on it. You can do this a few ways, place the cooked corncob directly onto the gas ring over a high heat, stick it under a hot grill or use a blowtorch. Once you have done that take a knife and carefully remove the corn from the cob.
Finally, using a handheld stick blender whizz the soup till super smooth. If you feel the soup is too thick add some more stock or water. Check for seasoning, divide between 4 bowls and garnish with the bacon bits, the chard corn and a drizzle of cream. I also like to add a sprinkling of chilli flakes and a few fresh herbs.
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