A delicious, silky smooth soup, complemented by the cool tartness of the yoghurt, the crispy topping of the shallots and bacon and the final sprinkle of dukkah to add a further hint of spice to the dish. Perfect for a cold rainy day or that very special dinner party!
600gButternut pumpkinpeeled and chopped into 2.5 cm dice
175gSweet potatopeeled and chopped into 2.5 cm dice
125gOnionpeeled and chopped
75gCelerychopped
Olive oil
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
½tspground cumin
2cupshot chicken stock
125geye baconjulienned
75gFrench shallotthinly sliced
4tspDukkah
4tbsGreek yoghurt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 200˚C.
Place pumpkin and sweet potato into a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and use your hands to make sure that all pieces are coated. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in oven for 30 minutes, until soft and slightly charred.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tbs olive oil in a saucepan, add the onion and celery, and sauté over a low heat until soft, but not coloured. Add cumin and continue to sauté until fragrant.
Add 2 tbs olive oil to a hot frying pan, and fry the shallots until crisp, remove from pan and drain on paper towel.
Add bacon to frying pan and fry until crisp, remove from pan, drain on paper towel and keep warm.
When pumpkin is ready, add to onion and celery, together with hot stock, bring to boil and then reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes.
Blend your soup using a stick blender, or put it into a food processor or blender and blend until silky smooth. (If you are using a blender or food processor, allow the soup to cool a little before hand before pureeing.)
Return soup to pan, check seasoning, gently reheat.
Serve in nice wide bowls, topped each with a tbs of Greek yoghurt, some bacon, then shallots, finally sprinkle with dukkah, and if you must, a little drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil.