Pumpkin & Creamed Corn Soup

Ingredients

▢ 1 whole butternut pumpkin Note 1
▢ 2 medium to large potatoes
▢ 1-1.5 L of chicken stock or vegetable stock Note 2
▢ 2 x 420g can of creamed corn optional, Note 3
▢ 300 ml of thickened cream Note 4
▢ Salt and pepper to taste
▢ Olive oil for drizzling
▢ 1 brown onion quartered, optional, Note 5
▢ 3 cloves of garlic core removed, optional, Note 5

Instructions

Peel the skin off the butternut pumpkin, getting as close to the stem as possible and potatoes.
Slicing the pumpkin: Vertically into two pieces. Lay the side the stem on its flat side, slicing into smaller bits, around the stem, then removing the stem once Place the blossom end on its flat side, slice down the centre, through the blossom. Scoop out the seeds, slice into smaller chunks, with the piece of the pumpkin with the blossom sliced through its middle and then sliced off. This lets for maximum pumpkin and less wastage.
Place the sliced pumpkin and potatoes onto an oven safe tray, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, mix to coat and roast in the oven for 1 hour or until the pumpkin and potatoes are golden and soft.
Place 1 litre of chicken stock into a large pot and heat up until it starts simmering, place the roasted pumpkin and potatoes into the hot stock and use a stick blender to smooth out the chunks.
Add in the cans of creamed corn and stir to combine.
Once the larger clumps of creamed corn have melted into the soup, add in the cream and mix to combine.
Make any adjustments needed: if you want the soup to be thinner, add in some extra stock, if you want it creamier, add in some extra cream. Add in a pinch of salt and pepper.
Serve alongside some warm crusty bread.

Video

Notes

Note 1

Pumpkin - Grab one of any size, I recommend anything between 1.5kg - 2kg. Whole pumpkins tend to be cheaper as cut pumpkins have the additional cost of preparation that increases the price.

Note 2

Stock - The amount of chicken stock you use will depend on the size of the pumpkin you get and personal preference on how you would like the consistency of the soup to be. If you like the consistency, but it’s still lacking a little bit of a salty flavour, make sure you have some stock powder around so you can add a sprinkle in when cooking.

Note 3

Creamed Corn - This is completely optional. I like mine with 2 cans of creamed corn, so this may make the soup thicker. If you don't want to add it in and make it a regular pumpkin soup, use less stock initially, around 750ml, and then add more in if necessary in line with your desired consistency.

Note 4

Cream - I like mine really creamy, so it’s why I like to add that much. If you don’t want to add that much in, start with 100ml and go up from there.

Note 5

Many recipes add onions and garlic to their pumpkin soup; it's a great addition for some extra flavour. Usually I don't add it, sometimes I do, it depends on how I feel on the day, especially if I make it a regular pumpkin soup, without the corn, If you do want to add some, quarter the onion, remove the top and tail and the papery first layer, add to the baking sheet to season and roast with pumpkin and potato.