Pumpkin Soup

Modern. Gluten Free. 

This is the kind of recipe you can make your own with spices and toppings you might like. It doesn't use exact quantities and produces between 12-15 serves (based on 400-500ml per bowl). It is easy to freeze and is a flavourful, cheap meal at less than $2 Australian per serve. 

Ingredients
Soup

• 1 Bacon hock
• 1 large pumpkin
• 1 fennel bulb
• 5 cups of water 
• 1 heaped tablespoon ground ginger
• Salt 
• Pepper

Topping

• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons of cream (I use lactose free)

Method

• Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celcius
  
• Roast hock in oven for 1.5 hours.
  
• Remove skin and seeds from pumpkin. Cube.
  
• Slice fennel bulb thinly.
• Remove meat from hock. Cut of skin in one or two pieces. Cube meat.
  
• Place bone, skin and meat of hock in a six-seven litre pot with the pumpkin, fennel and 5 cups of water.
• Cook on medium heat for an hour or so until pumpkin is soft.
• Remove bone and skin from pot with tongs.
  
• Use a stab blender to make into soup. Taste.
• Add salt to taste (at least 2 tablespoons)
  
• Add pepper to taste (a least 1 tablespoon).
  
• Stir through at least a tablespoon of ground ginger. You may also like to add allspice, fresh ginger or other spices at this time. Stir and taste between adding spice each time.
• Ladle into bowl. 
• Mix lemon juice and cream. Drizzle on top of soup. 

​Lovely on a cool night!