#NaBloPoMo November 12th: Pumpkin and Pepper Soup

It's been a while since I posted a new recipe...so how about a nice warming recipe to use up a few ingredients in your fridge.  I had a little bit of pumpkin left over from Halloween, so I decided to whip up one of Mr Peachy's favourite soup flavours - Pumpkin and Pepper.

A lovely, spicy soup that I served up with some lovely, crusty onion bread;

Pumpkin and Pepper soup is one of the easiest recipes that uses just a few simple ingredients that you will have lying around.  Soup is a great way of using up those few veggie stubs and stock that would otherwise go to waste - food waste is a huge problem faced by UK households at the moment and this is a way of making sure you are not throwing food away unnecessarily.

Ingredients (to serve 2):
400g Pumpkin - chopped
500ml Vegetable Stock
4 Shallots (chopped and halved)
1 Leek (chopped)
1 Red Pepper (halved)
1 tsp Lazy Chillies/Half Fresh Red Chilli
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method
Under the grill on a medium heat, place the two halves of pepper face up and cook for about 15 minutes until the edges are slightly blackened.  Remove from the grill and place in a bowl to cool - covering the bowl with clingfilm will also keep the flavour ripe.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat your shallots and leak in a bit of olive oil, cover and cook on a medium heat until softened and slightly browned.  Add your pumpkin, chilli and seasoning and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes.

Add your vegetable stock and bring to the boil.  Cover and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes until the pumpkin is tender.

Whilst the soup mixture is simmering, cut the red peppers into small pieces and, when the soup mixture is ready, using a hand blender, add the peppers and blend until the soup is smooth with a little texture.

Serve with crusty bread and butter for a cosy, winter treat!