What to do with your leftover pumpkins’ - including a simple delicious pumpkin soup recipe
After welcoming hundreds of families across the region to their farm for pumpkin picking, the family at the helm have donated all of their leftover pumpkins to ensure every child locally gets to carve a pumpkin this Halloween.
Chad and Lucy Stevens at Horncastle Farm, near Wakefield, donated a batch of pumpkins to their local village Halloween party – ensuring every child attending gets the chance to carve their very own pumpkin this Halloween.
They also share how you can make their famous home made spiced pumpkin soup to reduce waste.
The gesture follows the farm’s popular Pumpkin Festival, which wrapped up on Sunday (Oct 26).
Visitors enjoyed tractor rides, animal encounters, home grown autumnal treats and ten different pumpkin varieties grown on the farm as well as devouring on their home-made spice pumpkin soup, of which they have shared the recipe.
Farmer Chad said: “Halloween is all about fun, togetherness and making memories.
“We know not every family can make it to the farm, so we wanted to make sure there were plenty of pumpkins for the village party.
“It’s our way of saying thank you to the community that continues to support us year after year.”
The donation ensures local children who might not have been able to visit the pumpkin patch can still enjoy the tradition of carving and decorating their pumpkins at home.
Chad said: “We are a fifth generation family farm that have run pumpkin picking events through October for the last three years as a way to diversify our farm.
“This year we planted 10,000 pumpkins of different varieties.
“We actually recommend making our spiced pumpkin soup as a great way of stopping food waste.”
Pumpkin Soup recipe
Ingredients:
- 650 g pumpkin or squash, peeled, deseeded, and chopped into 2–3 cm chunks
- 20 ml olive oil or a small knob of butter
- 1 small onion, chopped (≈200 g)
- 1–2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp smoked paprika (optional but adds lovely depth)
- 650 ml vegetable or chicken stock
- 65 ml double cream
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- To serve: toasted pumpkin seeds, drizzle of cream, or croutons
Instructions
- Roast the pumpkin:
- Cook the base:
- Simmer:
- Blend:
- Serve:
Chad added: “Using a mixture of different pumpkin varieties helps improve the flavour.”