IT’S ALMOST HALLOWEEN!

By Brandon Pieterse

My favourite time of year, Halloween!

Now traditionally, this is a time of year to dress up in whatever you want, paint your face and get a bit crazy on the sugar and sweets intake, which I am 100% on board with.

However in this post I will be talking about the pumpkin, the iconic Halloween symbol. It’s not really Halloween without spending hours carving an oversized pumpkin into an awesome image, and making an insane amount of mess while you’re at it!

Pumpkins are very dense in micronutrients and are very delicious when properly prepared. They are very high in potassium and vitamin C.

So this Halloween, rather than throwing the pumpkin away after Halloween, use it to make yourself a delicious roasted pumpkin and ginger soup – roast it for a hearty addition to your dinner or even make an amazing pumpkin mash.

Try this one out; Pumpkin and Ginger Soup

Ingredients:

500g diced pumpkin (seeds removed)

35g Ginger (roughly chopped)

1 Garlic clove

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

500ml chicken/vegetable stock

Finely chopped dill

25g roasted hazelnuts (chopped)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180℃. Place the pumpkin, garlic and ginger on a baking tray and drizzle with the oil. Give it a good shake to ensure it’s fully coated. Roast for 30 minutes. Blend them with half of the stock (250ml); strain through a fine sieve should there be any lumps. Place the soup and remainder of the stock into a saucepan and warm gently. Serve and enjoy.