Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving
• 50g unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• Small bunch of fresh marjoram leaves
• 1.5kg pumpkin, peeled, seeded and diced
• 200g new potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 diced red chillies, crumbled
• 1 litre chicken stock
• Freshly grated parmesan

Method

1. Heat the extra virgin olive oil and butter in a saucepan and gently fry the chopped garlic with the marjoram leaves until soft.
2. Add the pumpkin and potatoes, and continue to cook for a minute. Add the chilies and season well with sea salt and black pepper.
3. Pour in enough stock just to cover the pumpkin. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender, adding more stock if necessary to keep the pumpkin covered.
4. Strain about a third of the stock from the pumpkin and set aside.
5. Pour the contents of the pan into a food processor and pulse: the mixture should be very thick.
6. Return to the saucepan and add the strained-off stock plus any remaining stock. Check for seasoning. The soup will be very thick. Reheat gently for serving.
7. Serve soup with Parmesan, and extra virgin olive oil.

Notes

Look out for unusual pumpkins like Crown Prince which has a blue/green skin and deep orange flesh or the onion squash both of which are lovely for cooking.