Pierre’s Recipe for Scary Soup

‘A warming winter soup with a touch of spice. Ooh la la!’

Serves 4

  • 500g pumpkin - peeled, seeded, cut into 1cm cubes
  • 80g onion - peeled and chopped
  • 1 garlic cloves
  • 15g butter
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • 300g very ripe tomatoes - skinned and chopped (or 1 x 400g tin tomatoes de-seeded and chopped)
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • 800ml chicken stock
  • salt and pepper
  • pinch of nutmeg

For the spiced butter:

  • 25g butter
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
  • 1 tsp white mustard seeds
  • 5cm cinnamon stick

Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the pumpkin, onion, garlic and thyme. Cover and sweat on a low heat for ten minutes, stirring a couple of times. Add the chopped tomatoes (and half a teaspoon of sugar if using tinned tomatoes), tomato purée, a little grating of nutmeg and simmer until the pumpkin is tender. Discard the thyme stalk then carefully liquidise the soup in batches. Return the soup to the pan. If soup is too thick, add more stock or water. Adjust the seasoning as required.

Heat the coriander, cumin and peppercorns in a pan then crush coarsely. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. When foaming add the crushed spices, mustard seeds and cinnamon stick. Stir for a few seconds until the mustard seeds begin to pop. Remove the cinnamon stick. Mix the spiced butter into the soup. Serve in heated bowls.

Bon appetite!

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