Beat horror of Halloween food waste with this pumpkin soup recipe

4 October 2019, 09:22

By Emma Gritt

@emmagritt

Pumpkins will soon be filling the supermarket shelves - but it's more than just a Jack O'Lantern, it can make a tasty Halloween dinner, too.

For those mindful of food waste, the scariest thing about Halloween is seeing thousands of tasty pumpkins being used for decoration - and discarded.

Pumpkins are one of those vegetables that people are reluctant to taste, let alone cook.

With their tough, thick skin, peeling, chopping and de-seeding one can be a messy laborious task - but it's worth saving the meat to make a meal that will be a real treat on an autumn evening.

Stats released by Oddbox, who sell subscription boxes 'wonky' produce that doesn't meet supermarkets' superficial standards, reveal Brits will bin 8 MILLION pumpkins after Halloween, with over half only being used for carving spooky faces. 

Read more: The best Halloween costume ideas for kids

If you're concerned about how much food waste will come from your ghostly-celebrations, try baking a festive pumpkin pie, roast the seeds for a great healthy snack, make pumpkin puree for your own pumpkin spiced latte, use the stringy flesh for composting, and the pumpkin itself can double up as a biodegradable planter.

The easiest way to use up pumpkin is to make a soup, try our recipe below.

Curried Pumpkin Soup

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 pumpkin (deseeded and chopped)

2 tbsp. coconut oil (melted)

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

3 cups vegetable stock

1½ tbsp. curry powder

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Coriander (chopped to garnish - optional)

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 220 degrees (200 fan).

Chop the pumpkin into chunks and place onto a lined baking tray.

Drizzle the coconut oil over the pumpkin and season with sea salt, pepper and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Using your fingers, massage the pumpkin in with the coconut oil and spices.

Roast for around 35 minutes or until the orange flesh is easily pierced with a fork.

Place pumpkin into a blender, add vegetable stock, lemon juice and curry powder and blend until smooth.

Add another cup of water to adjust consistency.

Place in a medium pot and heat for a further 4-5 mins.

Serve and garnish with coriander.