Pumpkin and Almond Soup

This isn't quite my recipe - it is a version of my husbands.

I swapped some the ingredients which you don't have in your 'everyday' cupboard for ones that you do!

Peel and carve 1/2 a butternut pumpkin. (A fairly largish one)
Peel and chop  4 potatoes
Peel and Chop 2 Carrots
Chop 1/2 an onion
Peel a couple of garlic gloves.
Chop some raw almonds haphazardly
(The soup will be blended so don't go to too much effort with the knife, but keep the veggies roughly the same size so they cook more evenly)
Moroccan Seasoning
1 Ltr of GOOD veggie sock.

Pour some good oil in the pan, (olive or Vege doesn't matter)  and fry off the onion, garlic and almonds.

Sprinkle in the Moroccan seasoning - this is basically just paprika and cumin with chicken salt. You could also use a chili or even curry powder - what ever takes your fancy - OR if kids will be eating it you can leave it out.

Fry this off, being careful not to burn.

Throw in all the chopped veggies and cover with the Stock. If they aren't quite covered, top it up with water.

The veggies should only JUST be submersed, too much water will make the soup runny.

Bring it to the boil and then let simmer for around 20mins or until the veggies are soft  when you poke them with a knife.

Then turn off the stove and blitz the soup until it is nice and smooth. You can do this with a bar mix, or a blender.... If you are using the blender make sure it cools down a bit.

Pour in about 1/2- cup of cream. The more cream, the more runny it will be, so you need to taste it.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and some crusty bread.

yum yum yum.....

The almonds add a texture to the soup, if you don't think you would like the extra crunch you can easily leave them out. Or substitute for cashews are they are a little softer.