The Orange Kitchen

Thai Pumpkin Soup.

As a child, I hated pumpkin soup. Try as my parents and nan would, pumpkin soup never made it's way anywhere close to my mouth. Truth be told, I wasn't a fan of soup of any variety very much at all, with the exception of tomato soup when I was really young, but after a while that too went on the list of 'eww' foods. Did I have any valid or justifiable reason for hating soup? Absolutely not. But hey - when you're a kid, having legitimate reasons for your actions isn't important.

Anyhow. I then moved to Canberra (a very cold place in the winter), and later on London, UK and Berlin, Germany (especially cold places, particularly Berlin) and low-and-behold, I came to love soup. I mean, it doesn't take much logic thought to put together that when it's cold, as in snow-on-ground/frost-in-air/still-in-pajamas-at-lunchtime weather, hot soup definitely hits the spot.

I'm also a big fan of chilli, which is particularly fortune given when you're a little heavy handed on the red stuff, that in itself will generate a fair amount of heat. Perhaps chilli isn't to everyone's fancy, and if you're not keen, simply reduce the amount I suggest in this recipe, but I personally think the chilli adds a beautiful flavour to the pumpkin soup and it's heat is definitely softened by the use of coconut milk. On that - perhaps it sounds mildly insane to put coconut milk in your soup, but TRUST ME, it is a life-changing addition. A stroke a genius one might say, and the absolutely perfect thing to add in a delightful creaminess and wholesomeness to an already wholesome recipe!

Ingredients;
1kg pumpkin (approx. half butternut pumpkin)
3 tbsp olive oil
Mixed dried herbs
2 tsp minced garlic (2 cloves)
1 tsp minced chilli

1 onion, diced
4 stalks celery, leaves removed and sliced
2 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup coconut milk

1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Dice the pumpkin into smallish cube-sized pieces (approx. 2cm x 2cm). Spread the pumpkin over a lined baking tray, then drizzle with olive oil, mixed herbs, minced garlic and minced chilli. Mix through well, making sure that the pumpkin is fully and evenly coated, then roast for approx. 40 minutes, turning halfway through.
3. In a large pot, cook the diced onion and celery with some olive oil until cooked through/the onion begins to become transparent. When cooked, add in the roasted pumpkin, vegetable stock and coconut milk. Use a stick blender to mix until completely smooth (no lumpy bits!) Alternatively, if you don't have a stick blender, after cooking the onion and celery, transfer them to a regular blender, add in the pumpkin, stock and coconut milk and blend that way.
4. Serve piping hot with some fresh coyo (recipe here), sprouts, fresh coriander leaves, sliced shallots, cracked black pepper and some extra chilli (if you're game!). Enjoy!