Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Place the pumpkin on the oven tray lined with baking paper, toss in a drizzle of olive oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until tender. Remove and set aside. TIP: Roasting the pumpkin will add an incredible sweet and nutty flavour to your soup.

While the pumpkin is cooking, put half a kettle of water on to boil. Slice the bake-at-home ciabatta into 1 cm cubes. Place the ciabatta cubes and the pecans on the second oven tray lined with baking paper and sprinkle over the thyme. Drizzle with olive oil, season with a pinch of salt and pepper and place in the oven to bake for 5 minutes, or until golden and toasted. TIP: Watch to make sure they don’t burn! Remove from the oven and set aside.

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the brown onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until softened. Add the crushed garlic and the sweet mustard spice blend and cook, stirring, for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add the roasted pumpkin and the boiling water (check ingredients list for amount) and crumble in the vegetable stock cube. Stir to combine and dissolve the stock cube.

Remove the soup from the heat and use a stick blender to pulse the mixture until thick. TIP: If you don’t have a stick blender, use a potato masher, fork or blender to blend the soup in batches. Return the soup to a medium heat and stir through the baby spinach leaves until wilted. TIP: Add a dash of boiling water if you prefer your soup slightly thinner. Season to taste with a pinch of salt and pepper.