Pumpkin soup with cheese toasties

Method

1. For the soup: heat the stock in a small saucepan or the microwave. In a large saucepan, heat the oil and fry the onion, garlic and pumpkin over a gentle heat for 10 minutes until the onion has softened. Pour over the hot stock, stir in the thyme, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, until the pumpkin is tender.

2. For the toasties: butter the bread and make up four sandwiches with the cheese and chives on the inside, but with the butter on the outside of the sandwiches. Preheat a griddle pan or large non-stick frying pan and fry the sandwiches, two at a time, for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden-brown and molten inside.

3. Remove the woody thyme stalks from the soup and leave the soup to cool slightly before puréeing with a hand-held blender. Stir in the crème fraîche and heat through gently without boiling. Check the seasoning, and add salt and freshly ground black pepper if necessary.

4. Cut the toasties into squares or fingers. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with the toasties.