Pumpkin Soup

Description:
I'm not a big fan of soup, unless you're talking about pumpkin soup, that I can eat by the barrel load.
There is only one brand of ready made soup that I prefer and for the last year or so our local stupid market only seems to have the spicy pumpkin soup in the one person serving size. I don't know whether the company has stopped making it in the large family size or whether the store just doesn't stock it anymore. I figured I would have to start making my own.

So a few months back I started on the hunt for a few recipes to try. I noticed I had a recipe in my handydandy recipe notebook. This holds a collection of recipes I have stolen from various people over the years. I normally make a note of who or where I sourced the recipe from but this one has no notation so I have no clue where I found it.

I was initially hesitant to try this one because I noted from the ingredients that it didn't seem at all spicy, but I figured I could try it & then experiment & add to it the next time. Well it actually is soooo nice just the way it is that I'm not going to bother trying to spice it up.

Ingredients:
1 kg (2 lb) piece of pumpkin
1 large onion, roughly chopped
60 grams butter
1 litre chicken stock
3/4 cup of cream

Directions:
Conventional;

Cut the pumpkin into large manageable pieces and remove the skin. Then cube. Heat the butter in a large pan, add the onion and cook gently for 15 minutes, or until the onion is very soft. Add the pumpkin & the stock. Put the lid on & bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for approx 20 minutes. Mash or puree the soup mixture. (If you use a food processor or blender allow the mixture to cool first). Return to the pan and add the cream, salt & pepper to taste. Stir over a low heat until heated through.

Crockpot;

Add everything but the cream to the crockpot & simmer on a low heat for 4-5 hours. Mash or puree the soup mixture. (If you use a food processor or blender allow the mixture to cool first). Return to the crockpot, still on low heat and add the cream. Simmer for another hour or so, stirring occasionally.

Serve with a dash or sour cream & garnish with herbs of your choice. And of course don't forget the fresh crusty bread or bread rolls.

We are having this tonight, it smells great - Yum!