Autumn without a pumpkin is simply not real autumn. This soup is everything you need during gloomy and rainy weekday evenings. It’s creamy, sweet and a little bit spicy all at the same time. Serve it with toasted pumpkin seeds and double cream for pure perfection.
If you think about autumn, what are the first three words that pop into your head? For me it’s “cosy”, “heating” and “pumpkin”! I am also of the firm belief that the day Starbucks bring their pumpkin spiced latte back needs to be announced as a universal holiday. I can imagine that many of you are now thinking “this girl doesn’t have taste, and, by the way, do you even know that in this latte they don’t use pumpkin puree, they just use artificial flavourings”. Let me assure you that I know all these things, but… for me, this is a cup of unadulterated happiness and I am certainly not ashamed of that.
However, talking about real pumpkins and not artificial flavours, pumpkin soup is definitely one of my favourite October recipes. It is easy to make and its flavours hit every single taste bud. So creamy, rich and delicately sweet. Also, pumpkins are not just tasty, but they are good for your body as well; these veggies are high in vitamins and minerals (tasty and good – I love this combo!).
Pumpkin is one of the best sources of beta carotene, which converts in our body into vitamin A. This vitamin helps reduce the risk of developing cancer and supports eye health. In addition, this veggie is full of fibre which is crucial for our gut health and slows the rate of sugar absorption into the blood, which further helps control diabetes. Again, what’s not to love!?
This is truly an amazing veggie. Unfortunately, my fussy eater has his own opinions and convincing him to eat pumpkin is not an easy task. However, pumpkin soup is the perfect solution. Mixing pumpkin together with coconut cream helps to awaken different flavour-notes and creates an ideal taste combination. Even my very own food critic ate his entire bowl of soup and, to my biggest surprise, asked for seconds. And let me tell you a secret, that at that point, he didn’t have an idea that in his bowl of pumpkin soup, I managed to hide sweet potatoes, carrots and leeks. All the best stuff for our health and wellbeing.
As I mentioned before, food waste is one of the reasons why I started this blog. I want to share all the methods I use to reduce this awful side-effect of our modern consumption. This is why roasting veggies is such a wonderful process. By doing this, you will intensify the flavours, but most importantly you’ll also reduce waste. After you roast the veggies, it is easy to scoop the flesh as close as possible to the skin. Less waste, more product and better taste! I call this a triple win!
To finish off your soup, sprinkle some sunflower and pumpkin seeds on top (this way you can incorporate daily seeds in your diet as well), drizzle some double cream and finish with the finely chopped chives. Perfection!
Recipe
Ingredients:
1 pumpkin
1 sweet potato
1 carrot
¼ leek
3 garlic cloves
1 chilli pepper
70g creamy coconut
1 tablespoon of butter
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
To serve:
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower seeds
Double cream
Chives
- Preheat the oven to 190 degrees.
- Cut the pumpkin in half. Prick the sweet potato with a fork. Drizzle some olive oil and season the veggies with salt and pepper.
- Roast the veggies in the oven for 50 minutes or until they are soft.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan. Fry the finely chopped carrot, leek, chilli and crushed garlic for a couple of minutes. Scoop the flesh from the roasted pumpkin and sweet potato and add together with carrots.
- Pour 500ml of water into the saucepan and let it simmer gently. Season with salt and pepper. Add the creamy coconut.
- Transfer the soup to a blender to make a puree.
- Serve it with toasted seeds, finely chopped chives and a tablespoon of double cream. Delicious.
