Its that time of year when most of us have a pumpkin In our homes. Whether that be one from the local supermarket or one you have lovingly picked yourself.

You can find a suggestion of pick you own Pumpkin locations here.

Now notoriously Carving pumpkin's are relatively tasteless but that doesn't mean you need to throw them away. In the age of trying to create less waste it makes perfect sense to try and use up those unwanted pumpkin seeds and flesh.

This is a recipe I have been making at home for several years and it always gets gobbled up by the hungry munchkins in my home.

Serves 4

You would need

• Approximately 500 grams of pumpkin flesh (remove the seeds but don't throw them away). This is approximately the amount of flesh from a medium pumpkin.
•  One whole onion cut into small peices
• 2 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped
• 450ml of vegetable stock.

Method

You can either simply boil all the ingredients together until soft and then blitz with a stick blender.

Or you can roast the pumpkin and onion and garlic in a little olive oil for approximately 20 minutes at 220 degrees (until soft) and add to the stock and blend to desired consistency.

You can also add 150ml's of Milk or cream if you would like a richer soup or add some chilli flakes if you want to add a bit of a kick.

It makes a delicious healthy soup and means you don't waste any of the pumpkin flesh.

But wait... what about those seeds I told you to save!?!

You can toast them in a little olive oil and sea salt for 10 minutes in the oven for a delicious savoury snack (or why not top you soup with a couple!?!)

You can also dry them out and keep them in a sealed container in the fridge until next spring and then plant them to grow your own next year.

Do let us know how you get on!

Happy soup making

Kayleigh

XxX