Spiced pumpkin soup

This soup has Mexican spices added, but you could leave them out altogether or add any others that you like. The classic pumpkin soup has a little nutmeg.

Instructions

Chop the onion and garlic finely and chop the pumpkin into evenly-sized chunks of about 10cm. Dice the potato.

Heat the oil in a large pot over a moderate heat. Add the onion, garlic and potato and cook until the onion is soft but not coloured.

Add the pumpkin, stock and spices and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about half an hour, until the pumpkin is tender.

Take the soup off the heat. Using a hand-held blender, blend the soup until smooth. Or using a regular blender, blend half the soup at a time and tip back into the pot. (If you don’t have a blender, you could mash the pumpkin with a masher, or push it through a sieve with a spoon.)

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and parsley or coriander sprigs.

Serve with toasted tortillas or bread (gluten-free options are available).