Spiced Pumpkin Soup

One of my good friends is Italian, and his lovely Mama, like any good Italian mother, always gifts him with food and plants when he visits or when she comes to town. It's become a bit of a thing lately that she is now also including me in the tradition, and most recently I scored some gorgeous potted succulents, and 2 weeks ago, half a pumpkin from Uncle Silvini's farm! Nothing gets me more excited than cooking with homegrown food! Although I had good intentions, said pumpkin sat proudly in my fridge until yesterday when I noticed it was starting to look a bit sad, so I decided I should use it up, along with the equally sad-looking carrots and spring onions in my vegetable crisper. I absolutely hate throwing away food - just because it's lost its crunch or its colour, doesn't mean it doesn't still taste delicious. The thing that's awesome about this soup is that it doesn't require amazing knife skills (just chop it up, you're going to blend it anyway) and it cooks itself so you can get on with other things while it cooks (like pinning dream kitchens on Pinterest!). I know the Rosemary probably seems a little out of place in this recipe however my Aunty Jennifer recently told me that it adds a subtle sweetness and aroma to Pumpkin soup and although I was dubious, I thought I'd give it a try, and damn, she was right - just try it!  Here is my recipe for the pumpkin soup I whipped up last night. This recipe yields 4 servings.  

Ingredients
1 tablespoon coconut oil (any vegetable oil is fine).
1kg pumpkin, skin and seeds removed and cut into large chunks. 
2 carrots, washed. I like to leave the skin on, just remove the ends and chop roughly. 
Anything from the onion family equivalent to about half an onion. I used 4 Spring Onions (aka scallions, green onions). Remove and discard the roots and any wilted bits. Chop roughly.
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely.
1 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
1 cinnamon stick (or ground cinnamon works too) 
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 litre stock (Vegetable or Chicken is fine)

Method

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and add onions and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly softened (don’t allow to brown completely).
2. Add the pumpkin, ground spices and cinnamon and stir. Cook for another 3 minutes or until spices are aromatic.
3. Add the stock and stir well. Turn up heat and bring to the boil. Once it is boiling, turn the heat back down to low, pop a lid on your saucepan and simmer for 1-2 hours.
4. Once soup is done, remove from the heat and allow to cool before blending to a smooth consistency. 
5. Serve with a dollop of cream / Coconut yoghurt / Greek yoghurt and garnish with finely sliced fresh herbs or spring onions.  If you don't have any of these things, don't bother, just use what you have!