Serves 4

Ingredients – Soup:

800g pumpkin or butternut cubed
4 cloves garlic, whole and in the skin
olive oil for drizzling
1 onion, chopped
olive oil for frying
1 tsp cumin
4 cups warm chicken stock
salt and pepper to season

Ingredients Crostini:

2 JAZZ™ apples, cored and cut into thick wedges
of sharp white cheddar, cut into thin slices, enough to put a slice on each wedge of apple
6 slices of bacon, fried and finely chopped (add the bacon fat to the soup for extra flavour)
Freshly ground black pepper

Method – Soup

  1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
  2. Place the pumpkin/butternut and garlic on a roasting tray and drizzle with some oil.
  3. Roast until the pumpkin is cooked and the edges are starting to caramelise, about 40 minutes.
  4. Set aside to cool down until you can touch the garlic without burning your fingers.
  5. Fry the onions in a splash of oil over medium heat until softened.
  6. Add the pumpkin/butternut, squeeze the garlic out of the skins, and add
  7. Sweat the veggies for a further 5 minutes.
  8. Add the stock and let it simmer for another 10 minutes.
  9. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
  10. Remove from the heat and puree the soup, adding more stock if required.
  11. Cover the soup to stay warm while you make the crostini.

Method – Crostini:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
  2. Line a baking sheet with baking paper and place the apple slices on the paper.
  3. Top with cheese and bacon.
  4. Bake for about 5 minutes until the cheese just starts to melt.
  5. Grind black pepper on top and serve immediately with the soup

Created by: Hein van Tonder