Pumpkin and apple soup with potato and bacon croutons

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 ¼ kg pumpkin(s), e.g. Hokkaido
• 1 onion(s)
• 3 apples, sour, e.g. Boskoop
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 liter vegetable broth
• 400 g potato(s), waxy
• 100 g bacon, streaky, smoked
• 4 stalks of thyme, fresh
• 1 tbsp oil
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour

A great soup for cold autumn days!

Wash the pumpkin, cut into wedges, and remove the seeds. If using a Hokkaido pumpkin, peel it, but peel all other types of pumpkin. Roughly dice the pumpkin flesh. Peel and finely chop the onion. Quarter, core, peel, and dice the apples. Heat the butter in a saucepan. Sauté the diced onions. Add the pumpkin and sauté. Pour in one liter of vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Then add the apples and simmer with the lid half closed for about 20 minutes. The pumpkin flesh should be cooked through. Meanwhile, peel and wash the potatoes and dice them very finely. Finely dice the bacon and fry in a pan until crispy. Then remove. Heat the oil in the rendered fat and fry the potatoes. This takes about 10 minutes. Be careful not to stick them together. Wash the thyme and remove the stems. Add it to the potatoes along with the bacon. Season with salt and pepper. Puree the soup with a hand blender and season to taste. Ladle into attractive soup bowls and top with croutons. Serve immediately.