Midweek meals: Five comforting soup recipes to get you in the autumn mood 

Delicious soups to warm you up this week

From pumpkin to chunky chicken and a classic leek and potato.

Pumpkin and Coconut Milk Soup

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

A warming, coconutty slurp for the autumn evenings.

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 35 mins

Total Time

 55 mins

Course

 Side

Cuisine

 American

Ingredients

• 800g of pumpkin flesh

• a dash of olive oil

• 1 medium onion

• 3 garlic cloves

• a piece of ginger, about 2 inches long

• ½ tsp mild chilli powder – if you like

• 1 tin of coconut milk

• 400ml stock

Method

1. Pre heat your oven to 180ºC/gas mark 4.

2. Pumpkin is difficult to cut and to peel as it can be quite hard, so ask an adult to do this. Take out the seeds from the centre of the pumpkin and save them for the activity below. Put the chunks of pumpkin into a roasting tray or a large ovenproof dish.

3. Toss the chunks in the oil.

4. Ask an adult to help you peel and slice the onion. Add this to the dish. Crush the garlic with a garlic crusher and add this too. If you do not have a garlic crusher, ask an adult to help you slice the garlic up. Grate the ginger and add it as well. Put the dish into the oven to roast the vegetables for 30 minutes, the pumpkin should be soft after this time.

5. Once the dish has cooled enough so you can handle it scoop everything into a big saucepan. You can use the stock to rinse out the dish and add this to the saucepan as well. Add the coconut milk from the tin. With an adult blitz the soup with a wand blender (soup gun) until it is nice and smooth.

Leek & Potato Soup

recipe by:Ciara McDonnell

An easy meal - with locally-sourceable ingredients.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• 50g butter

• 4 potatoes, peeled and chopped

• 2 onions, sliced

• 4 leeks, washed well and sliced

• 750ml vegetable stock

• 250ml milk

• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Melt the butter and stir in the vegetables. Turn the heat down to low, clamp on a lid and sweat for ten minutes until the vegetables have softened. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. Bubble gently for fifteen minutes.

2. Stir in the milk and cook for five more minutes. Once cooled slightly blend with an immersion blender or in a jug blender until super smooth. To get ultra-silky soup, blend for at least five minutes - much longer than you may think. Season to taste, with salt and pepper.