Pumpkin soup with chickpeas

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 1 large Hokkaido pumpkin(s)
• 2 cans of chickpeas, approx. 600 – 800 g each
• 4 carrots
• 4 tsp garlic, pickled in oil or aglio olio from the jar.
• 3 tbsp salted butter
• 250 ml cream
• 500 ml vegetable stock
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp lavender flowers
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 2 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp harissa powder
• 1 tsp curry powder

Instructions

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

Place the chopped garlic or aglio olio from the jar in a large pot with the butter and reduce the heat to low. While everything is heating up, wash the carrots and pumpkin. Grate the carrots and hollow out the pumpkin, then cut into bite-sized pieces. Once the butter has melted, add the cream and the chopped or grated vegetables. Then add the vegetable stock and spices, increase the heat, and let the soup simmer gently. Instead of turmeric, cumin, and harissa, you can also use a golden milk spice mix. Stir occasionally and remove the cinnamon sticks after about 30 minutes. Then add the chickpeas. Now let everything cook until the pumpkin and carrots have reached the desired consistency. I let it cook until both were soft but not mushy, or until the pumpkin started to cook down a bit. If the soup is too thick, you can add another 50-100 ml of vegetable broth, but do this gradually, as it can quickly become too much. Season to your liking.