Cream of pumpkin soup with saffron

To celebrate Halloween and the first cold nights of the winter there is nothing nicer than a creamy soup. Today we suggest pumpkin with its pleasantly mild flavour, made more aromatic and tasty by the presence of a pinch of saffron and a nice sprinkling of Valtellina cheese. It’s also perfect as a light vegetarian meal, served with some warm, toasted bread. Don’t overdo the saffron if you want to give this soup to children, as they may not like its intense flavour. If you do have children and want to play it safe, you can change the main ingredient of your creamy soup and make it with sweeter vegetables that might be more acceptable to them, such as carrots, potatoes or peas. If it is a recipe which you are specifically planning for Halloween and you don’t have a pumpkin to hand - but want to get an equally orange effect - you could certainly use carrots.

Peel the pumpkin and remove the seeds, then cut it into small pieces and sauté with a little water in a saucepan. Add water and then, using an electric hand blender, blitz the pumpkin until creamy. Cut a slice of leek and add to pot, then add the cream and season with salt and the saffron. Grate the Valtellina cheese into the soup and mix well. Serve hot with croutons, a little olive oil, a dash of cream and some grated fresh pepper.