This delicious smooth soup combines the flavours of roasted butternut pumpkin and potatoes, sage and the heartiness of butter beans and is a perfect lunch or evening meal.

The pumpkin, when roasted brings out the sweet sugars and flavour. Making this soup is a great way to use leftover pumpkin from a vegetable roast as only a cup is needed when added to the potatoes. The sage is a perfect partner to the pumpkin.

Serve with your favourite crusty sourdough bread and topped with more crispy sage leaves that have been fried in Extra Virgin Olive oil.

Roasted Pumpkin, Potato and Butter Bean Soup with Sage

Ingredients:

• 1 cup roasted Butternut pumpkin pieces
• 3 medium red potatoes cut into wedges
• 1 can Butter Beans, or white beans, drained and rinsed
• 5 cups vegetable stock, hot
• 1 brown onion, chopped finely
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 5 small or 3 large sage leaves, washed and finely chopped
• 2 Tbls Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tsp butter
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Crispy Fried Sage

• 2-3 sage leaves per person, washed and thoroughly dried
• 2 Tblsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Method:

1. Finely chop onion, garlic and sage leaves
2. Heat oil and butter in a heavy based saucepan over a medium low heat
3. When the butter foams add the chopped onion and cook for 6 minutes or so until translucent
4. Add the sage and garlic and cook stirring for a further 2 minutes
5. Add the potato wedges, stir through to coat with oil, sage onion and garlic
6. The stir in the hot vegetable stock and season with a freshly ground black pepper
7. Bring to the boil and then lower the heat and simmer the soup for 30 minutes until the potatoes are soft
8. While the potatoes are cooking prepare the crispy sage leaves
9. Heat 2 Tblsp of Extra Virgin olive oil over a medium heat
10. Heat the oil add a sage leaf to test. If the oil is hot enough the leaf will sizzle.
11. Cook the leaves in manageable batches for 5 seconds on each side being careful not to let them burn and then remove them to kitchen paper to cool.
12. Set aside until soup is complete
13. With a slotted spoon remove the potatoes to a large pyrex jug adding some of the roasted pumpkin with each batch
14. Take the batches of pumpkin and potato with some of the liquid from the saucepan and blend using an immersion blender create a smooth puree (this can also be done with a potato masher if you don’t have a blender)
15. If needed add a little extra hot liquid to achieve your desired consistency
16. Return the puree soup to the saucepan and stir through the butter beans
17. Check seasonings and adjust as necessary
18. Simmer for 3-4 minutes to heat them through
19. Serve topped with some crispy sage leaves and crusty bread