Gut-Friendly Autumn Flavours: Moroccan-Spiced Pumpkin Soup

24th September 2026
This Moroccan-Spiced Pumpkin Soup is the perfect dish for the changing seasons. Naturally sweet pumpkin is paired with aromatic spices and fresh herbs to create a comforting bowl full of flavour, while toasted ras-el-hanout pumpkin seeds add a deliciously crunchy finish. Whether served hot on a crisp autumn day or chilled in warmer weather, it's a simple recipe that celebrates wholesome, seasonal ingredients.
  • Health and Wellbeing

  • gut health

  • Food & Drink

Pumpkin Soup .png

Ingredients

Serves 4
20g (¾oz) clarified butter
600g (1lb 5oz) pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cut into 2cm (1in) cubes
80g (3oz) leek, roughly chopped
125g (4oz) carrots, chopped
60g (2½oz) celery, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
800ml 1⅓ pints/3¼ cups) Chicken
Broth (see page 44)
10g (½oz) mint leaves salt and ground black pepper
4 tsp lemon juice
For the spice mix:
1 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tsp ground cumin
2 pimentos, crushed in a pestle and mortar
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
For the garnish:
1 tsp clarified butter
20g (¾oz) pumpkin seeds
½ tsp ras-el-hanout

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F, Gas mark 4.
Melt the butter in a large thick-bottomed pan over a medium heat.
Add the pumpkin, leek, carrots and celery, and cook for 10 minutes until golden brown, stirring occasionally.
Add the spice mix and then cook for a couple of minutes, stirring continuously so that the spices don't burn. Add the bay leaves and cover with the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
Meanwhile, make the garnish: melt the butter in a pan and stir in the pumpkin seeds and ras-el-hanout. Arrange them on a non-stick baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes.
Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon sticks and blitz the soup in a blender with the mint until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper and lemon juice, then pass through a fine sieve into warmed soup bowls.
Garnish the soup with a sprinkle of the toasted spiced pumpkin seeds and serve immediately.

This recipe is taken from Gut Gastronomy: Revolutionise Your Eating to Create Great Health, by Vicky Edgson & Adam Palmer. This is a great Gut-Friendly cookbook which is based on the health regime devised by Elaine Williams and Stephanie Moore, our Gut Health Programme Leader. 

  • Health and Wellbeing

  • gut health

  • Food & Drink