Halloween Pumpkin Cauldron Soup

Photo sourced: Shutterstock

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A hearty chicken and vegetable soup cooked and served inside a whole pumpkin. The pumpkin softens as it roasts, adding flavour to the broth and creating a spooky – and delicious! – centrepiece for your Halloween table.

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Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 2½–3 hours

Serves: 4–6

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Ingredients

• 1 large, round cooking pumpkin

• 4–6 bone-in chicken thighs

• 2 carrots, chopped

• 2 potatoes, diced

• 1 leek, sliced

• 1 onion, roughly chopped

• 4 garlic cloves, crushed

• 2 cups chopped cabbage

• 2 tbsp chicken stock concentrate, or to taste

• 4–6 sprigs fresh thyme

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• Salt and pepper, to taste

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Method

1. Prepare the pumpkin. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Wash the pumpkin, carefully cut a lid around the stem and scoop out the seeds and stringy flesh, leaving the walls intact.

2. Fill the pumpkin. Place the chicken inside, followed by the carrots, potatoes, leek, onion, garlic and cabbage. Add the stock concentrate, thyme, bay leaves, olive oil, salt and pepper. Do not add water.

3. Roast the soup. Replace the pumpkin lid and place the pumpkin in a deep, sturdy roasting dish. Bake for approximately 2½–3 hours, depending on its size, until the pumpkin flesh is tender and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of at least 74°C.

4. Finish the soup. Carefully remove the lid, bay leaves and herb stems. Remove all chicken bones, shred the cooked chicken and stir the meat back into the broth. Scoop out some soft pumpkin flesh and mix it through the soup to thicken it.

5. Serve. Bring the pumpkin to the table on its roasting tray and ladle the soup into bowls straight from the pumpkin. For visual drama, tilt the lid to one side when displaying on the table before eating to create a bubbling witch’s cauldron effect. Serve with crusty bread for dipping.

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Safety note: The pumpkin becomes soft and fragile as it cooks, so keep it on a sturdy and walled tray or baking dish and never lift it by the stem. If it begins to collapse or leak, transfer the soup to a pot to finish cooking. Remove all chicken bones before serving.

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More Ideas: Use smaller pumpkins for smaller or individual servings. Try your own favourite soups! Like pumpkin soup in little pumpkins, that’s double the pumpkin-ness!

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