Carrot soup, a simple yet comforting dish made primarily from carrots and often blended into a smooth, creamy texture, becomes even more delicious when one unexpected ingredient is added before cooking: pumpkin. The addition gives the dish extra depth of flavor and makes it more comforting.
Despite its simplicity, carrot soup is wonderfully versatile. The carrots provide a naturally sweet, earthy flavour, while aromatic ingredients such as onion and garlic add savoury depth and richness. It is a healthy, wholesome recipe that the whole family will love, making a warming treat or a quick and simple lunchtime option that can be batch cooked and frozen.
Recipe from Cornish Dairy Co.
This recipe comes from Cornish Dairy Co. and only takes 30 minutes to prepare with a cooking time of one hour. The soup serves six to eight people, perfect for having the next day or for sharing with family members. If you don’t have pumpkins to hand, you can replace the pumpkin with butternut squash or sweet potato.
Ingredients and Method
The ingredients include two carrots, peeled and diced; one large diced onion (can be red or brown); one bay leaf; two cloves of garlic; 25g of unsalted butter; two tablespoons of olive oil; one medium pumpkin (prepared weight about 850g/1lb 14oz) deseeded and roughly chopped; one medium-sized Maris Piper potato, chopped; one litre of vegetable or chicken stock, a little extra may be needed; 100ml of clotted cream; three tablespoons of pumpkin seeds to decorate; and seasoning to taste.
To make the soup, preheat the oven to 180°C. Put the carrots, onion, chopped garlic, bay leaf, butter and half the olive oil into a large saucepan and simmer over a medium heat until the vegetables are tender but not browned, approximately eight to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, toss the pumpkin cubes with one tablespoon of olive oil and spread them on a baking sheet, roasting for 25-30 minutes until tender and lightly caramelised.
Finishing the Soup
Add the chopped potato to the saucepan, stir and cook for a further two to three minutes. Pour in the chicken stock, season well with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, then bring to the boil. Once boiled, lower the heat to a gentle simmer, cover half of the saucepan with a lid, and cook for about 20 minutes. Once cooked, take the pumpkin cubes out of the oven and carefully transfer them to the saucepan, stirring and simmering for a further 10 minutes.
Remove the bay leaf, then use a stick blender to purée the soup until smooth. Add your clotted cream and taste, adding more salt and pepper to suit. If the soup seems a little on the thick side, add more stock as required. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and add the pumpkin seeds, frying quickly until they start to pop but don’t let them char. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with a swirl of Cornish clotted cream and the toasted pumpkin seeds on top, alongside a hunk of home-baked bread with lashings of butter.
