I love nothing more than a bowl of this pumpkin and bacon soup after collecting up the leaves from the garden. It's a lovely hot soup to warm up the soul and the bones.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
50g butter
150g maple cured bacon cut into small pieces
1/2 Crown Prince pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cut into medium chunks
1 litre chicken stock
100 ml double cream
3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds toasted
Maple syrup, for drizzling

@mindhunter METHOD:

1. In a large pan, heat the oil with the 25g of butter. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook on a low heat for ten minutes or until soft. Add 60g of bacon and cook for five more minutes.

2. Then increase the heat and add the pumpkin and stock and season. Boil, then simmer with a lid on for 40 minutes until the pumpkin is soft. Add the cream, boil again and remove from the heat.

3. Set aside some liquid, then blend remaining pumpkin until smooth, adding liquid to the pan bit by bit as you move towards the thickness you want. Strain through a fine sieve, check the seasoning and set aside.

4. Melt the remaining butter in a pan over a high heat and fry the rest of the bacon with black pepper for five minutes.

5. Divide the bacon between four bowls, reheat the soup and pour over. I also tend to leave some bacon to sprinkle on top too. Serve with a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds and drizzle with maple syrup.

Enjoy your Winter warming soup.

Bon Appétit my fellow Steemians!

@mindhunter