Thai spiced pumpkin soup
This soup came about many years ago as a means to use up the excess pumpkin I'd ended up with after a dinner party. It's a good combination of sweet and spicy and is a lovely autumnal dish.
As you know I like to keep it seasonal and you can’t get more seasonal than Halloween.
Some of you, in anticipation of Halloween, will also end up with a lot of pumpkin flesh when you carve your pumpkins this weekend and rather than throw the flesh away, why not make soup?
This time of year everyone is raving about pumpkin spice lattes or pumpkin pies. I’ve never had a pumpkin spice latte and have no yearning to try one either.The focus is all about sweet dishes for squash and pumpkin as they lend themselves well to sweet dishes. People however seem to forget that you can make savoury dishes too. With this soup, I let the sweetness take a back note and the Thai aromatics play centre stage, making a great savoury dish.
This time of year everyone is raving about pumpkin spice lattes or pumpkin pies. I’ve never had a pumpkin spice latte and have no yearning to try one either.The focus is all about sweet dishes for squash and pumpkin as they lend themselves well to sweet dishes. People however seem to forget that you can make savoury dishes too. With this soup, I let the sweetness take a back note and the Thai aromatics play centre stage, making a great savoury dish.
Waste not, want not as they say!
1 butternut squash medium sized or pumpkin (approx 300g)
2 stalks lemongrass quartered
5 lime leaves
30g fresh ginger roughly sliced
1 clove garlic slightly crushed
2 shallots roughly sliced
500ml chicken or vegetable stock
20ml Fish sauce
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp palm sugar
1 red chilli (or more if you prefer)
100ml coconut milk
Salt and pepper
Oil for roasting
Coriander to garnish
Quarter and de-seed the squash or pumpkin, drizzle with olive oil and roast at 150c (fan), 160c (normal) oven for 45 minutes
For those of you roasting it on the BBQ, then roast the pumpkin on indirect heat at 150c for 45 minutes
For those of you roasting it on the BBQ, then roast the pumpkin on indirect heat at 150c for 45 minutes
If you are using scooped out flesh from a pumpkin then only roast for about 20 minutes in a low oven in a roasting dish and use a very small amount of oil
Pour the chicken stock into a pan, add the ginger, lime leaves, shallots, lemongrass, garlic and chilli to the stock
Bring to the boil and then turn down and simmer for 30 minutes on a low heat
Bring to the boil and then turn down and simmer for 30 minutes on a low heat
Once the stock has infused, strain and return the stock to the pan
When the squash is roasted, separate the flesh from the skin and add to the stock along with the palm sugar
Simmer for 20 minutes, then blend to a smooth consistency
Add the coconut milk, lime juice, fish sauce, salt and pepper to taste
Garnish with roughly chopped fresh coriander
2 comments
Boooom! So delicious, and to roast the pumpkin first is a very good idea
ReplyDeleteThanks Heidi,glad you liked it!
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