I really hate food waste, so every year I try and make something new and interesting with my halloween pumpkin (which you can and totally should eat by the way!)

There’s loads of pumpkin soup recipes out there but this is my favourite as the spice really offsets the sweetness of the pumpkin, which I find a bit too much in a soup. This would obviously work really well with butternut squash also.

This recipe is really easy as it calls for a premade curry paste (I recommend this one), but you could always make your own if you have the time and inclination!

Recipe from BBC Good Food

Ingredients

• 1.5kg pumpkin or squash, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 tsp sunflower oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 1 lemongrass, bashed a little
• 3-4 tbsp Thai red curry paste
• 400ml can coconut milk
• 850ml vegetable stock
• lime juice and sugar, for seasoning

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Toss the pumpkin or squash in a roasting tin with half the oil and seasoning, then roast for 30 mins until golden and tender.
• Meanwhile, put the remaining oil in a pan with the onion, ginger and lemongrass. Gently cook for 8-10 mins until softened. Stir in the curry paste for 1 min, followed by the roasted pumpkin, all but 3 tbsp of the coconut milk and the stock. Bring to a simmer, cook for 5 mins, then fish out the lemongrass. Cool for a few mins, then whizz until smooth with a hand blender, or in a large blender in batches. Return to the pan to heat through, seasoning with salt, pepper, lime juice and sugar, if it needs it. Serve drizzled with the remaining coconut milk and scattered with chilli, if you like.