Roast pumpkin soup with garlic bread

(makes 2-3L of soup, serves 6-8)

Somewhere along the line my sister introduced me to roasting the pumpkin first before putting it together with stock. This naturally sweetens the soup and adds a delicious depth to it, once you've tried it you can't turn back! 
Recently I had the opportunity to make this in mass (4 times this recipe). Paul had asked me to cater lunch for a group of 20 guys from church who were attending the annual Men's Basecamp Convention; a day of sitting under God's word, learning and bonding together. It was a privilege to serve them in this way, and I even got a chance at trying out our first mini food truck! My first try at the garlic bread in mass was a little heavy-handed, poor guys had to be in one another's garlic-y company all night! The recipe has since been adjusted :)

Serving roast pumpkin soup, garlic bread and home-made sausage rolls

Ingredients
1.5kg butternut pumpkin
1 brown onion
2 cloves garlic
1 potato
1 L vegetable stock
300mL cream
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
salt and pepper
3g parsley, to serve

Garlic bread
1 baguette
30g garlic, peeled
4g parsley
50g butter, softened
salt
1 T olive oil

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C.
2. Peel and chop the pumpkin into 5x3 cm chunks, removing the seeds with a spoon.

3. Line the tray with foil, spray with a thin layer of oil, then place the pumpkin onto the tray and roast for 40min, or until golden and slightly crisp.
NB. You may need to do several rounds of making this quantity, depending on your oven size and strength.

4. Meanwhile, use a food processor to finely slice the onion.
5. Heat a large pot with 1 tbsp oil. Add in the onion and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes.
6. Peel and cut the potato into small chunks.
7. Add the vegetable stock and the potatoes to the stock and bring to the boil. Cook on low-medium heat for 15 minutes, then add in the roasted pumpkin. Bring back to the boil then simmer for 30 minutes. Cool, or leave overnight.

8. Using a food processor, put the pumpkin soup mixture through in batches until you have a smooth consistent texture.
9. Return to the pot and bring to the boil. Pour in the cream and season with cumin, coriander, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

For the garlic bread;
10. Preheat the oven to 180˚C.
11. Slice the baguette into 1cm thick slices, leaving a few millimetres at the base to keep it attached. You may also want to separate it into chunks of 4-5 slices for ease of individuals grabbing it.
12. Using a food processor, blend the garlic and parsley together. Mix the butter, salt and olive oil in with the garlic and parsley. 

13. Using a bread knife, spread a thin layer on the surface of each slice. 
14. Wrap in foil and place in the oven sealed for 10 minutes, then open the foil slightly and bake for another 5 minutes to allow it to crisp up.

To serve;
Finely chop the parsley and serve on top of the soup. Serve with warm bread rolls or crispy garlic bread.