Pumpkin and Pear soup

Sounds strange but Pumpkin and Pear actually make for a wonderful combination. Especially with the sage and chilli spice thrown in…

Ingredients

2kg pumpkin chopped into large pieces

3 brown pears peeled and cored

1 brown onion (peeled and finely chopped)

2 garlic cloves (unpeeled)

1 handful of sage leaves

1 tsp chilli flakes

2 litre chicken/ vegetable stock

100ml olive oil

30g salted butter

4 tbl creme fraiche

salt flakes, ground black pepper

Method

• Preheat oven to 200º
• Rub pumpkin and pear pieces with extra-virgin olive oil and salt and pepper, and then roast along with the garlic for 20min or until the pear pieces are tender and caramelised.
• Remove the pear and set it aside then continue to roast the pumpkin until it is tender. This should take a further 10-20 minutes depending on the size of the pumpkin pieces.
• When the pumpkin is cooked, scoop the flesh away from the skin and set aside. Also reserve the flesh of the cooked cloves of garlic.
• In a soup pot, melt the butter over a medium heat. When the butter is frothing, add the sage leaves and fry them until they are crisp. Remove the sage leaves and set aside.
• Add onion and chilli flakes to the melted butter and sauté for 3-5 minutes or until the onion has become translucent.
• Add the pumpkin and garlic flesh and the pear, and then cover with stock—the liquid should just cover the cover the vegetables (if not, add water).
• Bring the soup to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.
• Check for seasoning and then remove from the heat and puree.
• Serve with crème fraiche and a garnish of crispy sage leaves.