Soup kitchen

On Tuesday 18th October class 6NB turned itself into a soup kitchen - but unlike the Clangers it was a little more tasty than green soup...  It was all part of our healthy lifestyle learning for science, however, we also linked it with seasonality as our main ingredients came from the school allotments.  We also decided to sell the soup to parents and children after school to raise money for the school charities.  While we all took turns either prepping, frying or blending our soups, we also learned about the health benefits for pumpkins, tomatoes and red peppers. Lastly we made pumpkin pie and basil pesto, again using the ingredients from the grounds.  The basil pesto proved not to be popular - not so much because of the taste but because the pasta was cold!  The pumpkin pie was a hit though.

We thought as lots of you are scooping out pumpkins for Halloween next Monday you might want to know what to do with the flesh, so here are our recipes for you to try.  And can I just say many of the children said that although they wouldn't have eaten the ingredients if they had been dished up on a plate, they loved the soups!

Creamy Pumpkin and Lentil Soup:  Serves 4.  Rating:  easy.  Prep 15 mins.  Cook 35 mins.  Freezable.  Gluten Free.  

Health benefits: pumpkins can lower blood pressure due to the fibre, vitamin C and potassium; increased potassium plays a part in reducing the risk of strokes; it  has antioxidants of vitamins B and C, plus beta-carotene that can reduce degenerative diseases to the eyes; eating one cup of cooked pumpkin would provide well over 100 percent of our daily needs for vitamin A, 20 percent of the daily value for vitamin C, 10 percent or more for vitamin E, riboflavin, potassium, copper, and manganese, and at least 5 percent for thiamin, B-6, folate, and iron.


1 tbsp olive oil
2 chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, chopped
approx 800g chopped pumpkin flesh, plus the seeds
100g split red lentils
Half a small pack thyme, leaves picked
1 litre hot vegetable stock
pinch of salt and sugar
50g creme fraiche (optional)

1.  Heat the oil in a large pan.  Fry the onions until softened and starting to turn golden.
Stir in the garlic, pumpkin flesh, lentils and thyme, then pour in the hot stock.  Season.  Cover and simmer for 20-25 mins until the lentils and vegetables are tender. 
2.  Meanwhile, wash the pumpkin seeds removing any flesh still clinging to them, then dry with kitchen paper.  Heat 1 tsp oil in a non-stick pan and fry the seeds until they start to jump and pop.  Stir frequently, but cover the pan in between to keep them in it.  When the seeds look nutty and toasted, add a sprinkling of salt and a pinch of sugar and stir well.
3.  Whizz the cooked pumpkin mixture in a blender until smooth, then add the creme fraiche and whizz again.  Taste for seasoning.
Serve with a spoonful of creme fraiche, a few thyme leaves and the toasted seeds scattered on top.

Roasted red pepper and tomato soup with a dash of chili.   Serves 4.  Prep 10 mins.  Cook 20 mins.  Rating: easy.  Freezable.  Gluten and cholesterol free.

This was a favourite of the children's and I had to wrestle the bowl from them as they were going to eat it all up!  Health benefits: Whether you refer to a tomato as a fruit or a vegetable, there is no doubt that a tomato is a super-food that most people should be eating more of. The health benefits of tomatoes can include improved eye sight, relief from skin problems and urinary tract infections. Furthermore, tomatoes can increase digestion, stimulate blood circulation, reduce cholesterol levels, protect the kidneys, prevent premature aging, and reduce inflammation and related conditions. Tomatoes consist of a large number of antioxidants and are a rich source of vitamins and minerals.

3 deep red peppers, halved and deseeded
1 onion peeled and roughly chopped
4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
3 large beef tomatoes, roughly chopped
450ml vegetable stock
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp sundried tomato paste.
2 squirts of chili sauce (optional and how much depends on taste)

1. Put all of the ingredients into a pan (except the chili sauce) and simmer for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.  
2. Tip into a blender and whizz until completely smooth.
3. Pour back into the saucepan and add the chili sauce.  
4. Heat through and eat.  This is really nice with a squeeze of a lemon over the serving, or with lumps of feta thrown in.  



Pumpkin and Bacon Soup:  Serves 4.  Prep 15 mins.  Cook 40 mins.  Rating: easy.  

1 tbsp vegetable oil
50g butter
1 onion finely chopped
150g maple-cured bacon, cut into small pieces
½ Crown Prince pumpkin or onion squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into medium chunks (you need about 500g pumpkin flesh)
1l chicken stock
100ml double cream
3 tbsp pumpkin seeds, toasted

Maple syrup, for drizzling

In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, heat the oil with 25g butter. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook on a low heat for 10 mins or until soft. Add 60g bacon and cook for a further 5 mins until the bacon releases its fat. Then increase the heat to medium, add the pumpkin and stock and season. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for about 40 mins until the pumpkin is soft. Pour in the cream, bring to the boil again and remove from the heat. Set aside some of the liquid, then blend the remaining pumpkin until smooth and velvety, adding liquid back into the pan bit by bit as you go (add more liquid if you like it thinner). Strain through a fine sieve, check the seasoning and set aside.  Try toasting the pumpkin seeds and adding to the top of this for a bit of crunch.






Pumpkin Pie  Serves 8.  Cook 40 mins.  Rating: not too difficult (and it wasn't - Mr Knight and Mrs Turp managed this without setting off any fire alarms or burning anything - bonus!)

 
500 g ready-made dessert pastry
1 large butternut squash , quartered and seeds reserved
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons maple syrup
6 tablespoons caster sugar
3 large free-range Wicor eggs, beaten
200 ml double cream

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Roll the pastry to the thickness of a pound coin. Get a 22cm loose-bottomed tart tin, line with the pastry and bake blind for 20 minutes. Set aside.
2. Lay the pumpkin in a baking tray. Sprinkle with the nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon and drizzle with the maple syrup (or honey). Cover the tray tightly with a double layer of tinfoil and bake for 45 minutes until soft. Reduce the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
3. Allow the pieces of squash to cool, then scoop out the flesh. You should have about 600g of cooked squash flesh. Don't forget to scrape out the bits in the tray and the maple syrup. Put in a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the sugar and the eggs. Mix well and stir in the cream.
4. Fill the cooled tart case with the mix and bake for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, wash the stringy bits of squash off the seeds, dry them and lay them flat on a tray. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar and place in the oven with the pie for the last 10 minutes until crispy.
5. Remove the tart from the oven. Sprinkle with the seeds when cool. Serve with cream if you're feeling naughty - which we were  :)

Enjoy - and remember... YOUR CHILDREN COOKED THESE.  They all peeled, chopped and prepped the veg; fried or stirred the soup vats, then blitzed in the blender.  Maybe it's time they treated you to some home made soup.  Happy days.