Thai-spiced roast pumpkin soup

 
My hometown of Port Elizabeth has many great characteristics.  It has great people who are friendly and welcoming.  It has miles of pristine beaches.  It has all the amenities of a big city while still being a comfortably manageable size.

But what it doesn't have is four noticeable seasons.

Obviously, there is summer - a whole lot of it (we sometimes tell people that moving from Porrt Elizabeth to London means trading 9 months of summer for 9 months of winter!).  And then there is winter, where the temperatures get below 10C and there is frost if it's really cold.  But Spring is not heralded by the arrival of seas of daffodils or trees exploding into masses of canydfloss blossoms - it's simple the period when you no longer need to carry a jersey everywhere with you, but it's not yet warm enough to swim.  Similarly, there is no real Autumn. A couple of trees lose their leaves, but for the most part Autumn is just the time when you have to be quite brave to swim, but you can still wear summery sandals.

 

Bearing that in mind, imagine what a mind-blowing experience my first year in London was.  Spring brought an exuberance of blossoms absolutely everywhere; and eye-popping seas of golden daffodils in unlikely places (like in the middle of traffic circles!).  I remember my mom trying to get them to flower in PE by putting the bulbs in the freezer for winter - but here they grow, unsupervised, like weeds.  

Autumn, if anything, was even better.  The crisp but chilly days; the smell of woodsmoke from the allotments as people burn their garden waste; and of course the colours. Oh the colours... Even the most mundane-looking trees are suddenly abalze with colour, especially the wild cherry trees near our house that this year have turned not their usual yellow but a jaw-dropping spectrum of colours from palest shaded salmon to a deep oxblood red (testminony, I am told, to our long and hot summer this year which increases the sugar content of the leaves and encourages rich Autumn colours).  In fact, if you get news one day that I have been run over by a bus, you can be reasonably certain that I stepped absent-mindedly off a kerb while staring up at a particularly colourful Autumn tree.

 

Another benefit of Autumn is of course the easy availability of pumpkins and squash.  A couple of weekends ago I hosted a "getting to know your camera" afternoon here at CookSister HQ together with the lovely ladies Ailbhe from Simply Splendiferous, Michele from 5a.m. Foodie and Bron from Feast With Bron.  Not only did Bron bring me some utterly sinful pork scratchings from a market near Oval - Michele also brought me some homegrown tomatoes and a pumpkin. 

The pumpkin sat on my kitchen counter for about 2 weeks, thinking about what to do when it grew up.  And then on Sunday I made the pumpkin's career choice on its behalf: soup.  But not just any old soup - I wanted something a little different; something richer and more flavouful than my standard butternut soup.  And in the end, inspiration came in the form of this recipe from 101 Cookbooks.  I tweaked it a little, especially in the adding of loads of coriander during roasting, and the end result was nothing short of breathtaking.  Please try it out soon - it will give you a whole new reason to look forward to Autumn!

If you like this recipe, you may also want to try my

• butternut squash soup
• cream of Jerusalem artichoke soup
• Moroccan harira soup

And if you are wondering where I got the adorable bamboo leaf plate and bowl, they were both kindly sent to me by Restaurantware, who make a beautiful range of bamboo biodegradable disposable cutlery and crockery for catering professionals. 

 

THAI-SPICED ROAST PUMPKIN SOUP (serves 4)

Ingredients

1 medium-sized pumpkin (15-20cm in diameter)
olive oil
butter
1 Tbsp coriander seeds, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 small onion, diced
1 x 400g can of coconut milk
3-4 Tbsp green Thai curry paste
500ml chicken or vegetable stock
chilli flakes to garnish

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180C.

Chop the pumpkin into 6 or 8 wedges.  Scoop out the seeds and place the wedges skin side down on a baking sheet lined with aluminium foil.  Brush them with a little olive oil ad place a dab of butter in the hollow of each wedge.  Sprinkle liberally with a mix of the cumin and the coriander.  Roast in the over for about an hour or until soft enough to be skewered with a fork.

In the meantime, heat a little olive oil in a large pot and gently fry the onions until translucent but not brown. Scoop the flesh out of the pumpkin skin and add to the onion in the pot.  Mash with a fork.  Add the coconut milk and Thai curry paste and stir until it starts to bubble.  Using either a masher or a hand blender, mash to make a smooth puree.

Add the chicken stock in increments of about 150ml, stirring well after each addition,  until the desired thicknes of soup is obtained.  Serve hot, topped with a sprinkling of chilli flakes.

 
Have YOU signed up yet for Plate 2 Page, the food writing and photography weekend workshop that Meeta, Jamie, Ilva and I are presenting?

Comments

[Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)]

I love the idea of pumpkin with the green curry. This soup is going on my try-it list!

[nina]

Interesting Thai twist. I love it! Your pictures are lovely Jeanne!

[johanna]

mmmh that sounds divine! i can see how you'd need a spicy and warming soup in blighty... me, i am seriously wondering how i'll ever be able to get into the christmas feeling with the weather here - any suggestions? i am not missing the cold weather, but in a way i am, because it feels totally unnatural to be sweating in november...

[Firefly]

I love Butternut Soup so I am sure that this one will tickle my fancy as well.

[Tandy]

oh yummy! We also don't have seasons here - today it is winter again :) I think you need to have plate 2 page here as well xxx

[meeta]

Love the leaves you have used as props here Jeanne ;o)! I love thai curry paste and this soup has such wonderful soothing and warming highlights. delicious!

[5am Foodie]

I'm glad the pumpkin made a decision about its future - sounds like an excellent choice. I've got one that's decided to become a tagine when it grows up, so that's tonight'she dinner taken care of. I love the pumpkin and coconut combination that you went with - so smooth and sweet and just quite delicious!

And thanks again for your "photography 101" lesson. It really was useful, and a great afternoon of food and chatter. I'm starting to think more before I take photos, instead of just pointing and hoping for the best. Thanks also to Nick for putting up with us!

[Kit]

Lovely autumnal colours and flavour in your gorgeous pics, Jeanne! We do get a bit more of spring and autumn than PE but I still feel shortchanged on the autumn leaves and the daffs, so it's nice to get a glimpse of them from you. Today it is really spring-like with blustery showers and a chilly wind - Surely November is supposed to be summer here!

[Marisa]

Fabulous looking soup Jeanne! Yes, I do think we don't notice the seasons as much here in SA, but I kinda like that. :-)

[Krista]

I loved hearing about your seasons back home. :-) Amazing how places can be so different, yet beautiful in their own right. Your soup is gorgeous. I can almost taste it, marveling at the wonderful spices. :-)

[Lizzy]

Pumpkins are a few of the vegetables that I don't like cooked cause of the sweet taste it has...however this seems a way bit different

[Sally - My Custard Pie]

Have just ordered my first DSLR so a getting to know your camera session sounds very appealing. Shame I'm not on the same continent! Love the bamboo stuff and the recipes of course, and you make me miss England. Haven't seen an Autumn in over 16 years...boo hoo.

[Debs]

Looks delicious.

[Delishhh]

Nice recipe! I love this soup. I just did a very similar one here: http://delishhh.com/?p=2445 and everyone loved it!

[Sarah, Maison Cupcake]

Mmm now a Thai twist on pumpkin soup sounds absolutely wonderful. I will have to buy another pumpkin! Wonderful pictures with the leaves too.

[Soma]

Love the Thai flavors here. I have done the squash soup with coconut milk but never used the real curry paste. So perfect.

The soul orange leaf is beautiful!

[Lacey]

Your photos are amazing. You should submit this post to dishfolio.com!

[pinky black]

i tried the 101cookbook's version and it's very breathtaking. and i won't hesitate to try your version. but is there a big difference between pumpkin and squash? aside from pumpkin being a little bigger.

[Charlotte]

Just made this, with butternut, to huge acclaim from my family. Jeanne, Cooksister is turning out to be my go-to website when my recipe books hold no inspiration. Your recipe index is superb. What I want to know is where is your recipe book and for that matter, BBC, where is Jeanne's cookery show?!

[Barbara @Modern Comfort Food]

You must be made of sterner stuff than I, Jeanne. I find London's (very) late spring and (very) early fall to be delightful but am too much the hothouse flower for the winters you have there. I love the way you've incorporated coconut milk and spices to add some tropical warmth to this seasonal fall soup. This recipe is simply stunning and a must-try for me.

[Amy]

Just had this for breakfast.
Yum yum!

Thank you!

[Nicole @ running around the rock]

Just wanted to let you know that I made this soup for a fundraiser our swim team was putting on this weekend, and it was such a hit they begged me to make it for today as well. People were coming back asking for more. One person didn't even like pumpkin but loved the soup. For reference I used canned pumpkin 4 large cans (29oz. each) and doubled everything else in the recipe. The perfect fall soup!

[Jamie]

I love the Restaurantware bowl and spoon. And I love the soup. I love the Thai flavors you have added. What a huge spicy difference from the pumpkin soup I usually make. And Port Elizabeth may be very like season-wise where I grew up. 9 months of blazing hot summer with 3 beautiful, cool winter months. So of course I go nuts for Autumn! And Autumn food. Like this.

[Bela]

Super Recipe, will try it soon.. :))

[Sophie]

Could I substitute the real pumpkin for a can of Pumpkin?