Seedling Magazine

Pumpkin and
Pepper Soup
Ingredients
2 red onion, finely chopped
2­3 stems of celery, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon oil (optional)
1 Tablespoon tomato puree
1/4 cup white wine or vermouth
1 Medium pumpkin
4 Roasted red peppers
1.5 ­ 2 litres of vegetable stock
seasoning
Cook’s tip
If you find it difficult to cut up your pumpkin,
poke some holes into the pumpkin with a
sharp knife (it is usually easiest around the
stem) put in into a warm oven, and let it heat
up until it softens enough to cut easily.
Method
1. Prepare your pumpkin ­ peel and cut into pieces, or
shred/scrape the flesh away from the skin if you want to use
the pumpkin for serving or for carving at Halloween.
2. In a heavy­based pot that is large enough to hold your soup,
add oil and sauté the red onion and celery until they are soft
and lightly coloured. Stir in the tomato puree and let it
caramelise a little. When it is sticking to the bottom of your
pot, pour in the wine and deglaze your pot, stir/scrap the
caramelised tomato paste and mix with the wine.
3. You can roast your pumpkin first or add it straight into the
onion and celery mix. Then pour on just enough stock to
cover, put on a lid and simmer until the pumpkin is cooked
enough to make a puree.
4. Blend your soup mix and roasted red peppers together ­ a
stick blender is easiest, but any blender or food processor will
do. Add more stock if needed to make it smooth. Depending
on how big your pumpkin was and how thick you like your
soup, add more vegetable stock. Season to taste.
To make a simple soup seem more of party dish, I served it in
a hollowed pumpkin, topped with crispy kale nests, parsnip
crisps and toasted pumpkin seeds.
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