The roasted pumpkin and veg in this soup bring out the sweetness in the ingredients, providing a beautifully sweet and warming soup. This soup doesn’t require many ingredients and most of the flavour comes from the quality of these ingredients and the way in which they are cooked - roasting.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 x butternut pumpkin
• 1 x onion
• 2 x cloves of garlic
• 2 x carrots
• 1 x vegetable stock cube
• 1 x bay leaf
• 3 cups of water (for soup)
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees fan-forced and prepare two baking trays lined with baking paper. 
2. Peel the butternut pumpkin and then cut into small diced pieces, removing any seeds from the butternut pumpkin. Spread the diced butternut pumpkin over the tray evenly, (that way each piece cooks evenly) drizzle with olive oil, season with a pinch of salt and place into the oven for 20-25 minutes.
3. Cut the onion into wedges, peel and crush the garlic, and dice the carrots. Spread the onion, garlic and carrot over the second tray and drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and place into the oven for 20 minutes. 
4. Once the roasted vegetables look cooked and are slightly darker around the edges transfer into a large pot. Add 3 cups of water, crumble in the vegetable stock cube, cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook with a covered lid for 10 minutes. 
5. Blend the ingredients all together until a smooth soup has formed, either with a hand blender or in a food processor. Add any extra seasoning. 

Prep time: 15 minutes.
Cook time: 40-45 minutes.
Serves: 4-6.

Recipe and photos by Anastasia Zolotarev. Click here to see her blog.