Category
Soups
Author:
Panos Giannakis
Far from a Greek classic, but a hearty dish that’s perfect for autumn as the nights grow shorter. As usual, olive oil can be applied to nearly all dishes. Sweet, savoury, Greek or anywhere in the world, it’s a versatile twist on any dish.
Ingredients
1 large onion chopped
2 carrots peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
25g/1oz unsalted butter
2 tbsp SkapEti Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 medium pumpkin (prepared weight about 850g/1lb 14oz) deseeded and roughly chopped
1 medium-sized floury potato, such as Maris Piper, roughly chopped
1 litre/1¾ pint vegetable or chicken stock, a little extra may be needed
100ml/3½fl oz double cream
3 tbsp pumpkin seeds
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Put the onion, carrots, garlic bay leaf, butter and half the olive oil into a large pan. Cook over a low–medium heat for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender but not coloured.
Add the squash and potato, mix to combine and cook for a further 2–3 minutes. Pour in the stock, season well and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, half cover the pan with a lid and continue to cook for about 40 minutes until the squash is tender.
Pick out the bay leaf and blend the soup.
Add the cream and if the soup is too thick, add a little more stock. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper as required.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and add the pumpkin seeds and fry quickly until the seeds start to pop. Remove from the pan.
Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with a swirl of cream and the toasted pumpkin seeds.