Butternut or Kent/Jap Pumpkin Soup

The days are still sunny in Melbourne but a distinct chill in the morning air heralds the arrival of "soup weather". And what better way to start a collection of my favourite soup recipes than with that most under-appreciated vegetable the humble pumpkin.
My favourite pumpkin varieties for soup-making are the butternut variety or the stripy Kent pumpkin (also known as a Jap pumpkin, which has a sweeter flavour and mashes more easily than most other varieties).

Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients
1 pumpkin (butternut or Kent/Jap varieties are best for this recipe)
1 brown onion (or 3 or 4 golden shallots for a less intense flavour)
2-3 sticks of celery (not the whole bunch, just 2-3 of the sticks or rib with the leaves on top as well as they add flavour and texture)
1 small carrot
2 tab olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper
500 ml chicken stock
water (as needed - see * below)
1/4 cup cream (optional)
2 tab finely chopped parsley

Optional
4 rashers of bacon, grilled and crumbled
croutons - 2 slices of bread cut into 1cm cubes, sprayed with olive oil and baked in a hot oven until crisp

Method
Heat oil in a heavy-based pot.
Cut pumpkin roughly into cubes (about 4-5cm chunks), slice celery into small pieces (reserve the leaves for later), finely cut onion (or shallots) and dice carrot (these take longer to cook than the other vegetables so dice-sized pieces are best). Add the vegetables to the pot and cook until the onion softens and the vegetables are slightly golden.
Add salt, freshly ground pepper, chopped celery leaves and stock. If needed, add enough water to bring liquid to level that just covers the vegetables.
Cover and bring to the boil until pumpkin and carrot are soft enough to put a knife through them.
Puree soup in blender (or if you don't have a blender, strain the soup through a sieve, mash the vegetables with a potato masher, then return mashed vegetables to the liquid).

When serving the soup, add a swirl of cream to the top of each bowl, a sprinkle of chopped parsley, and a sprinkle of crumbled bacon and a few croutons if desired (or place the "finishing" ingredients on the table and let guests add their own).

The soup can be frozen (omit cream, parsley, bacon and croutons - these need to be prepared/added just before serving) and reheated for a quick winter treat. I usually freeze single or double serves as they reheat quickly. Add a few slices of crusty bread and you have a quick lunch or entree. And it's the perfect light meal at the end of a big day out.