Simple pumpkin soup from scratch (with bone broth)

Pumpkin soup is such a hearty, warming dish that’s perfect for cold and rainy winter days. And it is so easy! Just chop up your pumpkin and cover with stock – simmer and it’s ready!

These days we hear all about the benefits of bone broth – it’s gut healing, and full of minerals like calcium, magnesium and potassium, which are essential for our wellbeing. My homemade bone broth is quick and easy and uses up leftover bones from Sunday night’s roast chicken dinner. Win win.

This pumpkin soup with garlic and leek, and homemade chicken bone broth, is ideal for anyone with intolerances (as commercial stocks are really high in food chemicals salicylates, amines and glutamates).

I’ve served it with my coriander pesto, and a dollop of sheep’s yoghurt (but coconut yoghurt would be delicious too). Oh and your bread of choice on the side, of course. I had homemade gluten free slathered in coconut oil (dairy free)! You can make this all on the same day, you just need a few hours, or for even more goodness in your bone broth, make it overnight and start the soup the next day.

Pumpkin soup with homemade bone broth

Glutenfree, dairyfree

Ingredients – homemade bone broth

Bones from 2 leftover roast chickens (freeze these straight after cooking/cooling to save for another day)

3 large carrots, roughly chopped

1 large leek, cut down the middle and thoroughly washed between layers, chopped (1/3 reserved to add to soup)

1/4 bunch celery, roughly chopped

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp salt

water to cover bones in a large pot

Method

Cover bones and vinegar with water and bring to the boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer for 2-3 hours or overnight. Check and top up water every few hours to ensure it doesn’t run dry (you need a very large pot to leave it on overnight).

Brown veggies for extra flavour (or just throw them in raw if you want less glutamates). Add veggies to the bone broth for a further 20 minutes.

Cool slightly, then pour through a sieve into a large bowl – reserving the liquid (and leave the bones to drip over the bowl while you prepare the soup. Once all the bone broth has drained through, discard bones and veggies and reserve the liquid stock/bone broth.) Check and adjust seasoning to taste.

There should be plenty of extra bone broth to freeze for another meal – I freeze mine in 2 cup portions in sandwich bags laid flat in the freezer, or in ice cube trays to be added to stir-fries and curries anytime for extra flavour and nutrition. (Of course, if you don’t have time, you can use a packet stock or bone broth – just aim for one with the fewest, and most natural ingredients.)

Ingredients – pumpkin soup

1/2 JAP pumpkin, or whole butternut (butternut is lower in salicylates), cut into chunks

1/3 leek, reserved from stock prep.

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Method

Sweat the leeks and garlic briefly, add the pumpkin and enough stock/bone broth to just cover. Simmer for about 20 minutes, test that pumpkin is cooked through by piercing with a skewer. Turn off and allow to cool slightly. Blitz in batches in the food processor until smooth.

Serve with crusty bread, such as my homemade glutenfree bread, a dollop of yoghurt of choice (I use sheep’s) and for the adults, a spoonful of coriander pesto swirled through.