Delicious Pumpkin and Carrot Soup (with bacon)!

Pumpkin season is in full force and it’s time to get our hands into this delicious fruit! Many people anxiously await pumpkin season because they get to go out to the pumpkin patches and pick pumpkins, but once they’re at the farm, they don’t know what to get other than carving pumpkins. Pumpkins taste great and are packed with vitamins and good stuff, plus there are many great ways to eat pumpkin. So before you go out pumpkin picking, make sure you know what you’re getting and try this delicious recipe.

 

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Pumpkin and Carrot Soup with Crispy Pancetta and Fried Sage 

Ingredients
Serves 6

2 lbs pumpkin, peeled, deseeded, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 lb carrots, peeled, cut into ½-inch pieces
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
4 cupsvegetable stock
2 cupswater
Salt and pepper to taste

6 oz.  pancetta, diced (if you can’t find pancetta, use good-quality bacon)
Handful sage leaves

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°Fand place a rack in the middle. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place pumpkin and carrot pieces on the lined baking sheet. Drizzle over 2 tablespoons of oil and toss to coat. Roast for 30-35 minutes or until golden and tender. In the meantime, heat remaining two tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, a pinch of salt and cook, stirring every now and then for 15 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add garlic, mustard seeds. coriander, cumin and turmeric. Cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant (and mustard seeds start to pop).
Add roasted pumpkin and carrot pieces and give a good stir. Add vegetable stock, water, and bring to a boil.Reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool for 15 minutes. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth (alternatively transfer the pumpkin mixture in batches to the jug of a blender). Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Add more stock if needed to reach the desired consistency.

Before serving, in a nonstick fry pan over medium heat, cook the pancetta, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the pancetta is browned and crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside. Add sage leaves to the frying pan and fry in the rendered pancetta fat for 1 minute, until crispy. Transfer the fried sage pancetta to the paper towel-lined plate. Divide soup among soup bowl, top with pancetta, fried sage and serve.

Nutrition facts

One serving yields 276 calories, 18 grams of fat, 24 grams of carbs, 8 grams of protein.

Recipe from www.theironyou.com.