Just about to roast 1/2 pumpkin, about 1kg, 1 whole head of garlic and will make Roasted Pumpkin with Garlic soup.

The mix of spices in this recipe gives it a mellow Indian taste

1kg (2.2 lb) pumpkin I use crown

1 head garlic

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt

Fresh ground pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion

2 stalks celery

2 medium carrots

1/2 tsp each ground cumin and cardamom

1 tsp turmeric

3 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1/2 teaspoon fresh chilli, crushed (optional) or ¼ ground chilli powder.

First thing to do is cut the pumpkin into medium wedges, skin on. I don’t cut them too small as I am roasting them without peeling, to get a bit of extra flavour in to the pumpkin while it roasts. Toss in olive oil, season with salt and pepper in a roasting tin.

Cut the top off a head of garlic and drizzle a little oil over the cloves, wrap the garlic in tin foil and add to the pumpkin. Roast at 200C for 30 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft.

About 5 -10 minutes before the pumpkin is cooked, coarsely chop the onion, celery and carrot and fry over a medium heat until the onion is translucent. Add the ground cumin, cardamom and turmeric and fry briefly. Add the stock, salt and pepper to season and chili (if you like a bit of heat in your soup). Bring to the boil and then reduce to simmer for 15 minutes.

Once this is simmering remove the pumpkin and garlic from the oven and let cool till it’s cooled enough to handle. Remove the skin from the cooked pumpkin and then squeeze out the roasted garlic and add to the soup along with the pumpkin. You may need to add some water at this stage to just cover the vegetables. Simmer for another 5 minutes.

Once cooked, blend in batches and adjust the seasoning to taste if needed.

I serve with chopped chives or parsley.