Pumpkin & Bacon Soup

Out of the Ord - Butternut Pumpkin

This morning I felt like really taking my time with this recipe, so I put on some music, opened the windows to let the breeze in and got to it.

I placed a variety of local ingredients in this pumpkin soup including chickpeas, and bush squash - I'd never cooked with bush squash before but it arrived in my Rock Solid Produce Box and I figured I'd give it a go. The chickpeas were very much a last minute addition - I try to keep some pre-soaked and precooked in the fridge so I can toss them in salads or fry them with some spices as an afternoon snack.

​The end result was a delicious, filling soup for lunch! Give it a go, you won't be disappointed.

Pumpkin Soup Recipe Card
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Time: About an hour
Serves: 2.5 people for a main meal or 4 people for a starter

Ingredients:

• 500 gr pumpkin, peeled & chopped*
• 250 gr baby potatoes, peeled & chopped
• 1 chicken stock cube
• Splash of olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely diced or crushed
• 4 rashes of bacon, chopped small
• ¼ Lebanese bush squash, chopped small*
• Handful pre-soaked/precooked chickpeas*

Method:

1. Cut pumpkin and potato and place in boiling water with the chicken stock cube.
2. Crush or finely slice the garlic, then dice the onion, bacon and bush squash into small pieces (no bigger than 1cm in diameter) and fry until golden in a pan on your cooktop with a little oil.
   1. If you’re using canned chickpeas add them to the pan, if using pre-soaked precooked chickpeas add them later.
3. Drain the pumpkin and potato and reserve the stock just in-case you need some extra liquid to blend the soup with.
4. Place the pumpkin, bacon and chickpea mixtures into a large bowl and using your stick blender, blend until smooth.
   1. I suppose you could also use a food processor but I don’t own a big enough one of those – hence, the stick blender…
   2. You might like to add the reserved stock here if you’re after a thinner soup – I prefer a thick soup.
5. Serve with fresh bread.

Notes:

• This week’s Out of the Ord focus is the butternut pumpkin, but you can use any variety of orange pumpkin.
• The Lebanese bush squash is as pictured, I happened across it in my local ‘Rock Solid Produce’ box and decided to add it to this recipe so I could figure out what it was all about. It cooks up like a zucchini.
• The chickpeas are by no means necessary, I just happened to have some pre-cooked in the fridge and added them to the blend at the end. If you want the chickpeas but don’t have time to soak them overnight and cook them – buy a small can from the supermarket.

Lebanese Bush Squash

Here is 'the fry up' the trick is to cut everything small enough so it blends easily.