• 1 butternut pumpkin
• 200g Feta
• 1 diced onion
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 stick of celery, finely chopped
• 250 g chopped mushrooms (optional)
• 1 c cooked brown rice or brown lentils
• ¼ c toasted pumpkin seeds
• A few drops of tabasco sauce
• 1 teaspoon Moroccan spice
• ¼ c parsley

Wash the pumpkin and then slice in half. Remove the seeds from the inside, but leave the skin on. Paint the pumpkin flesh with oil and bake in a moderate oven until tender.

Saute the onion, garlic, celery and mushrooms in a little butter. Scoop out most of the cooked pumpkin from the shell and combine with all the other ingredients.

Place the filling in the pumpkin shell, drizzle with a little olive oil and bake for a further 30 mins at 180 C or until golden and completely warmed through.

*Adjust the cooking times to suit the size and shape of the pumpkin.

• 500 g lean bacon bones
• 500 g packet of green split peas
• 8 cups of low salt chicken stock

Place these ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on low for about 6 hours or until the soup is very thick. Remove the bones and add in 3 cups of frozen peas and whizz the soup using a stick blender. Season to taste.

Cook for a further half and half an hour or so and then serve hot garnished with crispy bacon and chopped chives or shallots and lots of freshly toasted French bread.