Chunky Roasted Pumpkin and Corn Soup with Garlic Crostini

You know what happens when you harvest all your pumpkins?  You're forced to make chunky pumpkin soup... And then because you made chunky pumpkin soup, you're forced to make garlic crostini to go with.  It's the law.

Chunky Roasted Pumpkin and Corn Soup with Garlic Crostini

Serves 4

For the Soup:

700g pumpkin, peeled and chopped into 3cm thick wedges

Olive oil 

1 ear corn

1 large carrot, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, unpeeled

1/4 cup tomato passata

1/2 cup cooked quinoa

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

3 cups vegetable stock

Pinch chilli flakes

Sea salt flakes

For the Crostini:

4 slices of day old bread (I used sourdough)

1 clove garlic, cut in hlaf

Extra virgin olive oil

For Serving:

Pesto (I make my own and keep it vegan)

Lemon

Sprouts

Make the Soup:

Preheat the oven to 200C.  Line a baking tray with baking paper.  Put the pumpkin pieces and garlic cloves on the prepared tray, drizzle over some olive oil,  toss to coat and roast for 40 - 45 minutes, until tender and starting to caramelise at the edges.  Remove from the oven and squeeze the garlic flesh from the skins (discard the skins) and mash the pumpkin and garlic up a little with a fork.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, grill the corn on a very hot grill pan until slightly charred.  Remove the kernels from the the cob and place them in a large Dutch oven along with the roasted pumpkin and garlic, carrot, passata, quinoa, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika and stock.  Bring to the boil and cook until the carrots are tender.  Season to taste.

Make the Crostini:

Grill the bread on a hot grill pan on both sides until you get good grill marks.  Immediately rub the toasted bread with the cut side of the garlic cloves and then drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil.

To Serve:

Ladle the soup into deep bowls, top with a dollop of pesto, a sprinkling of sprouts and a drizzle of lemon juice.  Cut the bread into triangles to serve with.