Pumpkin Soup
with Twist
Pumpkins deserve more than to just be carved and discarded. Sure they are great jack o lanterns at Halloween, but they can be so much more. Their lovely inner flesh is both tasty and nutritious - full of betacarotene that serves as an anti-oxidant. What's more, if you take the extra bit of time to make a soup and roast the seeds, you will feel better for being a friend of the environment and preventing food waste. Here is a delicious recipe that adds some zing to the pumpkin and is a great healthy alternative to the usual cream based soups.
Ingredients
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1kg of carved pumpkin flesh cut in chunks
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1 400g can coconut milk
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500 ml vegetable stock
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1 tbsp melted butter
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2 tbsp rapeseed oil
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2 red onions, roughly chopped
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2 tsps red chilli flakes
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3 sprigs of thyme
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Sea salt and ground black pepper
Method
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Preheat the oven to 220°C/450°F/Gas Mark 8.
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Take the inner flesh out of the pumpkin along with the seeds.
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In a colander, wash them off, seperate the seeds and dry them. Cut the flesh into big chunks.
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Toss the seeds in butter with some salt and pepper and roast them until browned in the oven. Put the remaining pumpkin into a roasting tin with the thyme and toss in oil.
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Season with sea salt and ground black pepper and roast for 45 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork.
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In a large pot, heat a drop of oil and fry the onions until they are soft.
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Stir in chilli flakes and fry for a further minute. Remove the thyme and add the roast pumpkin to the pot, with the coconut milk and vegetable stock.
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Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, then puree.
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If necessary, add stock or boiling water until the desired consistency is reached.