Don’t let food waste be the scariest thing about your Halloween!

As we near the end of October, one type of food is more in demand than any other – the pumpkin.

A Halloween staple, with many of the round orange squashes set to be used as party centerpieces or to decorate doorsteps and driveways in the next week or two.

But what do you do with your pumpkin once Halloween is over and your lantern’s flame has been snuffed out for the last time?

Well, according to the Global Citizen, of the 24 million pumpkins sold in Britain last year, 12.8 million were simply thrown away.

Halloween celebrates the spooky but in terms of food waste, the festivities are ghastly!

So, Harper Adams University Entrepreneur in Residence, alumna and Butterbelle founder, Zoe Harrison, shares her favourite pumpkin soup recipe to help combat the scary amount of food waste that will be generated this All Hallows Eve.

Ingredients

1 Brown onion chopped

2 Cloves garlic crushed

1L Vegetable stock

750g Pumpkin peeled and chopped 

500g Parsnips peeled and chopped 

1tsp Cumin

1tsp Turmeric

1tbsp Rapeseed Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

Drizzle the pumpkin and parsnip chunks with oil, oven roast for 40 minutes at 170°c until soft.

Add the oil to a large pan and soften the onion and garlic.

Add the stock, roasted vegetables and spices to the pan and simmer for half an hour.

Allow to cool and blend in a food processor until you reached your desired consistency.

Add back to the pan to reheat, and salt and pepper to taste.

Or if you fancy having a go at making pumpkin bread instead, Zoe recommends this recipe from The Veg Patch Cookery School.

According to Zoe, the bread tastes best when served with a dollop of crème fraiche and a swirl of Butterbelle Pumpkin Seed Butter.