Mary Berry’s Easy Pumpkin Soup

As the weather starts to get colder, there’s nothing quite like a warm bowl of soup to make you feel cozy and comforted. And what better soup to try than a classic pumpkin soup? Mary Berry, the beloved British cook and television personality, has a recipe for pumpkin soup that is not only delicious but also incredibly easy to make.

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg Pumpkin
• 150 g Butter
• 2 Leeks (trimmed and sliced)
• 1 litre Vegetable Stock (or chicken stock)
• ¼ tsp Grated Nutmeg (or ground nutmeg)
• Salt and pepper
• 30 g Peas (optional)
• 250 g Spinach leaves (finely chopped – optional)
• 300 ml Single Cream

How to make simple pumpkin soup

STEP 1: Cut out the flesh from the pumpkin, discarding the seeds and fibres. Cut the flesh into 2cm chunks.

STEP 2: Melt 100g of the butter in a large saucepan. Add the leeks, and cook gently, covered for 10 minutes or until soft.

STEP 3: Add the stock, pumpkin chunks, nutmeg, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.

STEP 4: Meanwhile, cook the peas in boiling water for 5 minutes and then drain thoroughly.

STEP 5: Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan. Add the spinach, cover and cook gently for 3 minutes until wilted.

STEP 6: Puree the soup in a food processor or blender until smooth. Return to the pan and stir in the cream. Stir in the peas and spinach into the soup, heat through and serve hot.

Tips

CHUNKY SOUP – You can leave the soup chunky rather than pureeing it, using double the amount of spinach and omitting the peas, and halving the butter and cream to reduce fat content.

FREEZABLE – Make a big batch and freeze the soup for up to 6 months. Great for the days when you don’t feel like cooking.

OTHER SOUPS – You may also like to try Carrot and Coriander Soup, another tasty veggie alternative.