Pumpkin Soup with Toasted Sweetcorn

This is a very fine combination: the soft, velvety texture of the pumpkin makes the soup deliciously creamy and the toasted sweetcorn provides contrasting flavour and some crunch.

Serves 6

This recipe is taken from How to Cook Book Two and Delia's Vegetarian Collection.

Pumpkin Soup with Toasted Sweetcorn

Ingredients
1 lb 8 oz (700 g) pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and chopped into 1 inch (2.5 cm) dice
1 lb 4 oz (570 g) sweetcorn (off the cob weight, from 5-6 cobs)
1 oz (25 g) butter
1 teaspoon melted butter, for the sweetcorn
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
10 fl oz (275 ml) whole milk
1¼ pints (725 ml) stock made with Marigold Swiss Bouillon vegetable powder
salt and freshly milled black pepper
Equipment
You will also need a lidded saucepan with a capacity of 3 pints (1.75 litres).

Method

Begin by melting the butter in the saucepan, then add the onion and soften it for about 8 minutes. After that add the chopped pumpkin (or butternut squash), along with half the sweetcorn, then give everything a good stir and season with salt and pepper.

Put the lid on and, keeping the heat low, allow the vegetables to sweat gently and release their juices – this should take about 10 minutes. Next, pour in the milk and stock and simmer gently for about 20 minutes. Put the lid on for this but leave a little gap (so it's not quite on) because, with the presence of the milk, it could boil over. Keep a close eye on it anyway.

While that's happening, pre-heat the grill to its highest setting for 10 minutes. Mix the rest of the sweetcorn with the melted butter, spread it out on a baking tray, season with salt and pepper and pop it under the hot grill about 3 inches (7.5 cm) from the heat – it will take about 8 minutes to become nicely toasted and golden, but remember to move the sweetcorn around on the baking tray halfway through.

When the soup is ready, pour it into a food processor or blender and blend it to a purée, leaving a little bit of texture – it doesn't need to be absolutely smooth. You will probably need to do this in 2 batches.

Serve the soup in warm bowls with the toasted sweetcorn sprinkled over.

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