Ingredients:

• 900g pumpkin, peeled de-seeded and cut into ½ inch cubes.
• 150g carrot diced
• 175g onion diced
• 2 garlic cloves
• 25g butter
• 1 spring thyme
• 1x 400g tin of tomatoes de-seeded and chopped
• 1 tablespoon of tomato puree
• 1.2 litres chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Salt & Pepper
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
• ½ teaspoons black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon white mustard seeds.

• Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the onion, garlic, carrot & thyme for 10 minutes.
• Lightly toast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds and mustard seeds in a dry non stick saucepan.
• Grind the seeds and black peppercorns in a mortar & pestle.
• Add the cubed pumpkin and ground spices to the saucepan and sweat for a further 3 minutes.
• Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and sugar to the saucepan and cook for 10 minutes.
• Stir in the stock, salt and pepper and cook until the pumpkin is very tender.
• Discard the thyme and liquidise the soup in small batches and return to the pan.
• Add additional stock to achieve the desired consistency and adjust the seasoning to taste.