Pumpkin & Sweetcorn Soup

I'm not generally a big fan of cold weather, but when it starts to move in I try and look on the bright side. For me, there are only two pros to winter; one is climbing into a bed which has been pre-warmed by my electric blanket and the other is gorgeous soups and stews. Pumpkin is a classic which comes out every autumn. I've eaten a lot of pumpkin soup in my life and it always surprises me how often it is incredibly average. It's one of those dishes that everybody makes, but not everybody makes well.

You can make this recipe as a straight pumpkin soup, without the corn. I have to thank my partner for the addition of the corn, I had never even thought of putting corn in my pumpkin soup before but he would often cook us pumpkin and sweetcorn soup for a winter dinner. In this recipe I've combined my favourite pumpkin soup with his version to make probably the best one I've ever eaten :)

Pumpkin & Sweetcorn Soup

Ingredients
1 kg pumpkin, skin removed an chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped
1 large stick celery (including leaves), chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped (optional)
1 bay leaf
2 heaped tsp powdered vegetable stock
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 x 400g cans creamed corn
Salt and pepper, to taste

To serve: vegan sour cream and chopped fresh chives.

To Make:
1. Boil the kettle while you chop all your veggies up.
2. Combine the pumpkin, onion, carrot, potato, celery, parsnip, bay leaf and powdered vegetable stock in a big soup pot. Add enough hot water so that it is just below covering all the vegetables and bring to a simmer.
3. Simmer, covered for about 20 minutes. Stir every now and then to ensure that the veggies on top get cooked too, as they cook down they will release their own liquids and there will be enough water in the pan to cover all the veg but if you put in too much water at the start then you'll end up with watery soup.
4. Remove the lid and add in the ground cumin and ginger. Simmer, uncovered for another five minutes. Remove from the heat and all to cool until it is cool enough to blend.
5. Blend until smooth (a few chunks are ok too) and then return to the heat. Add the 2 cans of creamed corn and stir though, leaving it on the heat until heated through. Season generously with salt and pepper.
6. Serve hot with a dollop of vegan sour cream, chopped fresh chives and warmed crusty bread.

Serves 4 (with bread).