Pumpkin and sweet potato soup

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For some strange reason, I associate pumpkin with autumn. I suppose I was Americanized 25 years ago while I did the foreign exchange thing in the booming metropolis of Sparks, Nevada.  Despite associating pumpkin with autumn, I have only started in the latter years to use pumpkin in my cooking.

Pumpkins are both healthy and lean, and are terrific baked in the oven as an accessory for all sorts of dishes. And they are super yummy in soups:

• Servings: 4
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Yummy and hearty soup to warm up on on those cold autumn and winter evenings

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 1 small onion – chopped
• 1 leek – chopped
• 1 red chili with seeds, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 kg pumpkin (Hokkaido), large chunks
• 6-700 g sweet potatoes (2 large), large chunks
• 1 liter vegetable stock / bouillon
• Nutmeg, salt, pepper – to taste

Directions

Put olive oil in a wide pan on medium heat. Add the onion, leek, chili and garlic and sauté until soft.

Add the pumpkin and sweet potato, give it a quick stir. Pour over vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, and let simmer under a lid for 20-30 minutes.

Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper while you wazz up the soup in a blender.

Unless you are going the veggie-route, sprinkle with crispy bacon and salty crackers. If you dress it with croutons and fresh herbs it can also be quite stylish. Or serve bread on the side.

Relevant recipes:

Pumpkin puré

No Fail Flaky Pie Crust

Make your own Pumpkin Spice

Pumpkin Pie