Roast pumpkin, sage and maftool soup

Wild sage grows all around Palestinian villages and is a signature fl avour added to small cups of black tea. Here it is paired with roasted sweet pumpkin and maftool, a type of Palestinian couscous (see here), in a comforting bowl of soup.

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/Gas 6.

Step 2

Place the pumpkin or squash in a large baking tray and drizzle with half the light olive oil. Bake for 25 minutes, or until soft.

Step 3

Meanwhile, cook the maftool in a pot of boiling water according to the packet instructions. Drain and set aside.

Step 4

Heat the remaining light olive oil and half the butter in a saucepan. Add the onion and fry over a medium heat for around 10 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic, ginger and the chopped sage and cook for a further 2 minutes. Then add the cooked pumpkin, stock, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook for 5 minutes to bring all the fl avours together.

Step 5

Take the soup off the heat and roughly blend it with a hand-held blender, leaving a few pieces of pumpkin for texture.

Step 6

Taste and adjust the seasoning to your preference.

Step 7

Finally, make the topping by lightly frying the remaining whole sage leaves in the remaining butter until they are crispy. Stir these through the maftool and season with ¼ teaspoon salt.

Step 8

To serve, ladle the soup into warmed bowls and top with a few spoonfuls of the sage-f l avoured maftool. Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.