Cream of Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients
• 5 kg pumpkin
• 3 big leeks
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 50 cl single cream
• ½ cup water
• Salt
• 8 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain
• Some Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain for decoration
Preparation
1. Clean the leeks thoroughly, making a lengthwise cut to separate the layers and remove any soil with running water.
2. Add 8 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain in a large pan or casserole dish and fry the sliced leeks until golden around the edges. Add the pumpkin, cut into chunks, season to taste and cook for 2-3 minutes so the pumpkin absorbs the flavour of the leeks and the Olive Oil. Add the paprika and cayenne. Keep stirring well to integrate all the flavours.
3. Add half cup of water.
4. Cover and simmer for 35 minutes until the pumpkin is tender. After 35 minutes, beat the mixture with a hand-held blender until you have a smooth texture. In the last few seconds of beating, add the cream.
5. To decorate the soup, flash-fry some little cubes of pumpkin with Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain. Serve soup with the pumpkin ‘croutons’ and a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain to add an incomparable smoothness and texture.
