Pumpkin season is truly upon us and this week the kitchen has seen a Japanese dish of braised pumpkin with shiitake mushrooms and the first pumpkin soup of the season. I must admit to often finding pumpkin too sweet for savoury dishes, and always balance their natural sugars with the heat, spice and acidity. It was a revelation to me several years ago when I first decided to add a bottle of tomato passata to a too-sweet pumpkin soup. The tartness of the tomatoes counteracted the rather cloying quality of the pureed squash, adding a complexity and zing that made it very moreish. Since then I seldom make pumpkin soup without the addition of tomatoes, unless I am heading in a sage, nutmeg and cream direction.

We had a challenging pumpkin season, with three of the plants I put out in May vandalised by pigeons. Something that has never happened before. Then the growth of the remaining five plants was curtailed due to the consecutive heat waves we experienced in June and July. Although we consider them to be heat lovers the ideal temperature range for pumpkins and squash is 18°C to 29°C. If temperatures get above 32°C then plants and fruits can suffer from heat stress and sunscorch, affecting photosynthesis, fruit development and potentially keeping ability. This summer we had a much smaller harvest and with much smaller fruits than usual, so the addition of tomatoes (or indeed carrots or red peppers) to your pumpkin soup can also stretch these precious winter vegetables a bit further.