Pumpkin soup

Ingredients

• 800 g pumpkin or squash, peeled and diced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 medium potato, peeled and diced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 750 ml vegetable stock
• 1 1/2 tsp Xalte Garlic & Ginger salt
• 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds

Method

1. 1Peel the onion and chop it into small pieces. Peel the pumpkin, scoop out the seeds with a spoon and cut it into 2 to 3 cm cubes. Peel the potato and cut it into cubes of the same size.
2. 2Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and translucent but not browned.
3. 3Add the pumpkin, the potato and 1 tsp of the Xalte Garlic & Ginger salt. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring, so that the vegetables take on the flavour.
4. 4Pour in the stock, which should almost cover the vegetables, and turn up the heat until it comes to the boil.
5. 5Turn the heat down to its lowest setting, cover the pan and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. It is ready when the pumpkin and potato fall apart when pressed with a fork.
6. 6While it simmers, toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, shaking them, until they puff up and start to pop. Tip them onto a plate.
7. 7Take the pan off the heat and blend with a hand blender for 1 to 2 minutes, until smooth with no lumps. If you use a jug blender, let the soup cool for 5 minutes and do not fill the jug more than halfway, because the steam can push the lid off.
8. 8Add the remaining 1/2 tsp of salt, stir and taste. If it has cooled down, warm it for 1 minute over a low heat.
9. 9Serve the soup in four bowls with the toasted seeds scattered on top.