IRONBARK PUMPKIN SOUP

Preparation 20 minutes Cooking 20 minutes Serves 4 A very easy soup with lots of richness and flavour. The success of this dish depends very much on the variety of the pumpkin. The best I have found is ‘Potiron Muscade’, which is quite large, relatively flat, with dark brown skin and very pronounced curves. In my opinion, this is the best variety to make the soup. You can replace the pumpkin with butternut squash and, should you wish, you could serve it with a generous dollop of crème fraîche. It can be prepared one day in advance.

200g onions, finely chopped

40g unsalted butter

400g pumpkin, peeled and cut into

2cm dice

300ml organic whole milk

8g sea salt

½g freshly ground white pepper

6g caster sugar crème fraîche (optional), to serve toasted chopped hazelnuts and micro herbs, to garnish

1 Set a 25cm pan over a medium heat and soften the onions in the butter for approximately 5 minutes without colouring.

2 Add the pumpkin to the pan and soften for approximately 6-8 minutes (this will bring out the natural sweet flavour of the pumpkin), stirring from time to time.

3 Pour in the milk along with 300ml water and simmer for 10 minutes (if you boil the milk for too long it will separate, so cook gently),

4 Liquidise the soup until it has a smooth consistency. Season with salt, pepper and caster sugar, if needed.

Serve in warmed bowls with crème fraîche, if using, and a scattering of hazelnuts and micro herbs.