I am so lucky that I have not had to buy pumpkin for months now! A work colleague had an abundant crop last summer and now brings in the largest, most beautiful looking pumpkins for all of us. I'm always left with the biggest piece (ha!) and so I am always devising new ways to cook up this tasty vegetable.
My son just loves pumpkin soup - he firmly stated a few weeks back that it is his favourite soup. Well, lucky because it's on the menu at least once a week, plus leftovers for lunch.
I'd had an Asian style sweet potato soup years ago and thought I'd try a similar dish with pumpkin, with a few tweaks and changes (mainly because I couldn't remember how it was cooked).
I diced up my pumpkin and put it in a roasting pan with olive oil, salt, pepper and about a tablespoon of palm sugar sprinkled over the top. Then roasted until it was soft and golden. I caramelised red onions on the stovetop, then added the cooked pumpkin, ground coriander seeds (from my garden), black mustard seeds & cardamon, turmeric powder, cumin, cinnamon and a pinch of chilli powder. Mix to coat the pumpkin and cook the spices for a couple of minutes. Then, add a cup (or so) of coconut milk and water. You could use chicken or vegetable stock but I wanted my Asian flavours to really stand out. Cook on a medium/low heat until really soft. I mashed mine, as I like it a bit lumpy but you could give it a whiz if you like your soup nice and smooth.
Serve in big bowls with a healthy dollop of Buffalo yoghurt and a generous sprinkle of fresh coriander.
[Print Recipe]This is delicious served with my Buffalo Yoghurt & Coriander Damper
Buffalo Yoghurt & Coriander Damper [Print Recipe]
1 1/4 cups SR Flour
1 tsp fresh coriander
20g butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup yoghurt
Sift flour, add pinch of good salt, then rub in butter until mix is like breadcrumbs.
Stir in milk, yoghurt 3/4 of the feta and fresh coriander until mixture comes together (it will be sticky).
Turn on to floured board and divide into 4. Score a cross on each, top with remaining feta and a sprinkle of salt (I used Murray River Pink Salt).
Bake at 200C for 15-20 mins.
Serve warm with soup.
