Jamie's on-a-budget recipes

Jamie's easy pumpkin soup and crunchy croutons

Jamie says: "With vibrant pumpkin and sweet apple, this simple, seasonal soup is pretty hands off – you just chuck it all together, roast, then blitz until you have a creamy, velvety soup. My cheesy sage croutons are a game-changer and take this humble autumnal dish to the next level."

1. Preheat the oven to gas 6, 200°C, fan 180°C. Scrub the pumpkin or squash, slice in half and scoop out the seeds, then roughly chop the flesh. Peel and slice the onions into wedges. Chuck it all into a large roasting tin, drizzle over 2 tbsp olive oil, then roast for 30 mins or until soft and gnarly.
2. Meanwhile, core the apples and slice into wedges, and bash and peel the garlic cloves. When the time’s up, chuck them all into the tin with a few sage leaves and roast for a further 10 mins.
3. Slice the bread into 2cm chunks and put on a baking tray, then pick over the remaining sage leaves. Drizzle with 1 tbsp oil, toss to coat and spread out into a single layer. Finely grate over 20g of the Cheddar and bake for 5 mins or until golden and crisp.
4. Remove the pumpkin tin from the oven and tip everything into a large pan over a medium heat. Crumble in the stock cube, pour over 1ltr
   of boiling water and grate in the remaining Cheddar. Bring to the boil and cook for a couple of mins, then remove from the heat and blitz until smooth.
5. Season to perfection, then divide between bowls and top with the croutons and crispy sage. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, if you like.

Freezing and defrosting guidelines

Freeze soup only. In order to enjoy optimum flavour and quality, frozen items are best used within 3 months of their freezing date. For more tips on freezing and defrosting food, read our article Love Your Freezer.