smokey pumpkin zuppa zuppa

Pumpkin soup is awesome.  Soup, in general, is awesome - pea and ham, vege, chicken, chicken noodle, chicken and corn, minestrone, leek and potato (oh yum, one of my all time favs, especially with some bacon in it!!), chicken-peanut-blackbean (now that's got to be an upcoming post, it's amazing)...  But pumpkin soup is a personal fav - my grandma, Fran, would make it every time we went there for lunch.  Or dinner.  Sometimes for afternoon tea...  For years it was her thing - there was always some freshly-made pumpkin soup and toast in the offing.  Now, ordinarily I like to make a fairly traditional pumpkin soup as my base, and then add some curry paste (usually green, or laksa) and coconut cream.  Yum!  However, I've been on a bit of a paprika kick lately, so when I saw an Annabel Langbein recipe for a smokey pumpkin soup I thought I'd give it a go (with a few amendments, to suit what I had in the kitchen).  Buon appetito!!  

1.5 kg pumpkin/kumara (I about 1.2 pumpkin and two medium orange kumara)

1 - 2 onions

12 button mushrooms (they were desperate to be eaten!!)

olive oil

1 tbsp each paprika, ground cumin, fennel seeds

1.5 L chicken stock (this made for quite a thin soup, so perhaps 1 L if you want it thicker)

2 tbsp harissa (I like Julie Le Clerc's for Sabato - can buy this is kitchen stores, some supys)

salt and pepper, to taste  

1. Cut pumpkin and kumara into chunks.  Cut onions in half and remove paper.  remove ends of mushroom stems.  Place all on roasting tray, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with spices.  Roast for about 40 minutes at 200 degrees celcius (until cooked through and starting to go golden).  
2. Put veges and stock in large stock pot.  Heat through gently.  Add harissa and salt and pepper.  Blitz with wand, or in food processor.  Heat again until hot enough to eat.  
3. Serve with dinner rolls, toast with butter, little garlic breads...or refried leftover yorkshire puddings (oh yeah!!!!).