Roast pumpkin soup with chickpeas and leeks

This is a yummy, warming soup, the texture coming from the roast squash that is added as a course mash and then breaks up bringing body to the soup.  I like mine spicy but the chili can be toned down according to personal preference.  This soup gets better for hanging around for a day or two.

1 small pumpkin or butternut squash
4 tbsp olive oil, plus a bit extra for brushing
800 ml vegetable stock
4 small shallots (or two onions)-finely dices,
1/2 a medium fennel bulb, finely diced
4 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
2 tbsp fresh grated ginger
2 small birds eye or scotch bonnet chili-finely sliced and seeds discarded
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp fennel seeds-finely ground
3 leeks well washed and thinly sliced
1 can of chickpeas-drained and rinsed
100ml dry white wine
juice of 1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C/gas mark 5
Cut the pumpkin or squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Brush the flesh with olive oil and place the halves, cut side down in an oven dish.  Pour in 200 ml of the stock and place in the oven to roast for 30-40 minutes.
In a saucepan heat the 4 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat, add the shallots and fennel and saute for 2 minutes, stirring.  Add the garlic, ginger, leeks, chili and spices.  Saute for 5 minutes more.  Add the chickpeas and white wine, then cover with baking parchment, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
When the pumpkin is tender, scoop out the flesh and chop it to get a coarse, lumpy mash.  Add this to the soup pan with the remaining stock.  Bring to the boil and simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

Vegetable Paella

My mother-in-law made this for us recently when we were visiting her in the UK-it was delicious!  It is loosely based on one from Ottolenghi's book "Plenty".
3 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion-finely chopped
1/2 a fennel bulb-cut into thin strips
2 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp gound tumeric
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
150g Calasparra rice-or another paella rice.  It works well with out local tanzanian short grain white rice as well!
100 ml good quaity medium sherry
1 tsp saffron threads
450 ml boiling veg stock
200 gms shelled broad beans-or sliced french beans
12 plum or cherry tomatoes-halved
5 small grilled artichokes in oil from a jar-drained and quartered
15 pitted Kalamata olives-halved
2 tbsp roughly chopped parsley
4 lemon wedges
salt

Heat the olive oil in a large shallow frying pan (or a paella pan if you have one!), and gently fry the onion for 5 mins.  Add the fennel and and continue to fry on a medium heat until soft and golden-about 6 mins.  Add the garlic and continue to cook for a further minute.
Add the bay leaves, paprika, tumeric and cayenne to the onions and fennel and stir well.  Then add the rice and stir thoroughly before adding the sherry and saffron.  Boil down for a minute and then add the stock and 1/3 tsp of salt.  Reduce to the heat to the minimum and simmer very gently for about 20 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice.  Do not cover the pan or stir the rice during the cooking.
Meanwhile pour plently of boiling water over the broad beans in a bowl and leave for a minute, then drain well and leave to cool.  Now squeeze each broad bean gently to remove the skin and discard it.
Remove the paella pan from the heat.  Taste and add more salt if needed but without stirring the rice and vegetables much.  Scatter the tomatoes, artichokes and broad beans over the rice and cover the pan tightly with foil for 10 minutes to rest.
Take off the foil.  Scatter the olives on top of the paella an sprinkle with parsley.  Serve with wedges of lemon.