Warm up with a hearty and healthy soup

METHOD

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.
2. For the best flavours, roast the pumpkin whole with the ingredients inside to get a lovely roasted but infused flavour through the flesh. To do this, cut the top of the pumpkin around the core to make a lid you can remove but put back on as a lid. Scrape out the pumpkin seeds.
3. Put peeled lime, garlic, coriander roots, ginger and kaffir leaves inside the pumpkin cavity. Put the pumpkin lid back on. In a tray, roast the pumpkin whole until it’s tender and caramelized, around 1 to 1.5 hours depending on size.
4. After it’s roasted, cut the pumpkin into quarters, remove the lime, ginger and kaffir lime. Leave the garlic and coriander. Scoop out the pumpkin flesh and set aside. Alternatively, you can just peel and dice up the pumpkin and toss it in oil and seasoning and roast in the oven on a tray.
5. Heat up a pot with the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the diced onions and cook until the onion is soft and translucent. Next, add in some Thai red curry paste and cook for a few minutes until the paste is fragrant.
6. Pour in some vegetable broth and stir to combine. Add the roasted pumpkin and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes.
7. If you have added ginger, lime peel or kaffir lime leaves, remove them from the stock soup before blending.
8. Using a stick blender, puree the soup until it’s smooth. Add the coconut milk and add a squeeze of lime and stir to combine. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste and bring back to a simmer for 5 minutes then remove from the heat.
9. To serve, fill your bowls and garnish with some chopped coriander and a drizzle of coconut cream. You can serve the soup with some crusty bread or baked wonton crisps.

Thai pumpkin soup is the perfect meal for the cool winter months, as it is both healthy and delicious. Enjoy!