Chicken & Pumpkin Soup with Cheesy Toast

Chicken & Pumpkin Soup with Cheesy Toast

Ready in 80 minutes Serves 5
This dish most recently appeared in My Winter Warmers (4 Nights For 4) on Sunday, August 19, 2018.

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 650g chicken thighs
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 Tbsp soup spice mix

Soup

  • 2 carrots
  • 1 leek
  • 600g pumpkin
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 Tbsp soup spice mix
  • 3 tsp chicken stock powder
  • 3 cups boiling water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp butter, optional
  • 2 Tbsp sour cream

Cheesy Bread

  • 1 ciabatta loaf
  • 2-3 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 Tbsp softened butter
  • ½ cup grated cheese

To Serve

  • 2 Tbsp sour cream
  • 50g spicy pepitas

Steps

  1. Pat chicken dry and toss in a medium bowl with first measure of garlic, first measure of soup spice mix and a drizzle of oil. Season well, cover and set aside in fridge.
  2. Dice carrots 2cm and thinly slice leek. Add to slow cooker/casserole dish along with pumpkin, second measure of garlic and soup spice mix. Cover and set aside in fridge.
  3. Preheat oven to 220°C (if using). Bring a full kettle to the boil. Combine chicken stock powder and boiling water in a heat-proof bowl. Add salt and stock mixture to vegetables and slow cook for 8-9 hours on low or cook in the oven, covered, for about 1 hour. Vegetables will be very tender when ready. Line an oven tray with baking paper.
  4. When soup has 12 minutes cook time remaining, heat a drizzle of oil in a large fry-pan on medium-high heat. Cook chicken for 4-5 minutes each side, or until cooked through. Set aside to rest before roughly pulling with 2 forks. While chicken is cooking, cut ciabatta in half lengthways and place on prepared tray.
  5. Combine third measure of garlic and butter and evenly spread over each piece of ciabatta. Top with cheese and set aside. When soup is cooked, turn oven to high grill. Grill bread (on middle rack) for 2-4 minutes, until cheese has melted. Slice into 2cm pieces. Using a stick blender (if using) or heat-proof blender, process soup until smooth. If you don’t have a blender, mash until smooth. Add butter and sour cream and season.
  6. Spoon soup into bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream and a handful of chicken. Sprinkle over pepitas. Serve cheesy toast on the side.

Nutritional Information

Energy 2593 kj
620 kcal
Protein 34.4g
Carbohydrate 47.3g
Fat 31.6g