Finely chop the red onion and add it to a warm, oiled pan with the fennel seeds. Sweat it slowly for 10 minutes, or until it is soft and sweet.
Meanwhile, cut any skin from your pumpkin and scoop out the seeds, put the seeds into a sieve, put the sieve into a bowl of warm water and leave the seeds to sit.
Chop the pumpkin into 2cm pieces and, once the onions are ready, add the squash to the pan. Cover the lot with 2 litres of boiling water, add the chilli and leave to simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the squash is tender.
Meanwhile, pull the pumpkin seeds from their orange casing and wash well. Add to a hot frying pan with a little oil and salt and 1 tsp fennel seeds. Toast the seeds, stirring all the time until they are golden brown all over.
Once the pumpkin is cooked, blitz the soup with a hand blender until it’s creamy. Serve in warm bowls with the toasted seeds and, if you like, some good buttered bread.