Main Starter Soup Leftovers Lunch

Spiced Pumpkin & Bourbon Soup

This soup is full of autumn flavors and beautiful in color. Serve it this Halloween - it's a great way of using up leftover pumpkin.

20 minutes prep, 30 minutes cook

Ingredients

21/2 tbsp olive oil

75g butter

1 stick celery, diced

2 leeks, trimmed, washed and roughly chopped

1 tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground cayenne, plus a tiny bit for serving

Approx. 1.2 litres chicken or vegetable stock (you may need a little more)

6 tbsps bourbon

Double cream for drizzling (or you can use dollops of crème fraîche if you prefer something tangy to go with the sweetness of the pumpkin)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Put the pumpkin or squash flesh in a roasting tin. Toss it in the oil and season. Place the tin in the oven and cook for 20-30 minutes, or until the flesh is completely tender and golden.

Melt the butter in a heavy, wide-bottomed saucepan and add the celery and leeks. Season and sauté over a gentle heat for 3-4 minutes until softening, then add the ginger and cayenne.

Add a couple of tablespoons of water, cover with a lid, turn the heat down really low and sweat the vegetables for about 20 minutes.

They should be soft and floppy. Add the pumpkin. Pour in the stock, season and bring to the boil. Simmer until tender, then allow the soup to cool.

Purée in a blender, in batches if necessary, until smooth. Add more stock if you prefer a thinner soup. Heat the soup and check the seasoning again – it might need adjusting.

Put a tablespoon (or more or less, depending on how you want it) of bourbon into each bowl and top up with the soup. Drizzle on some cream and add a tiny sprinkle of ground cayenne.