It’s almost Halloween, and for me, that means pumpkins! Yes, like shades of the Great Pumpkin from Charlie Brown! But brrrr! it’s much too cold to stay out in a pumpkin patch at night like Linus did. Instead, I’d much rather celebrate the holiday with a hot spiced pumpkin soup. I’ve tried numerous pumpkin soups, to see if I could discern the best combinations of spices and flavors to blend together. I also like my food a little spicy, so you can choose not to add the hot sriracha sauce and you might also want to decrease the amount of red curry paste as well. The beauty of this recipeis you can tweak it to make it your own! As always, make sure you have all your ingredients set out and, since this recipe relies so much on spices, make sure your spices are fresh for the most impact. Here’s to a warm and safe Halloween for all!
Diff: Easy Prep: 5 min Cook: 15 min Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1 T. virgin coconut or olive oil
½ c. finely chopped onion
½ c. finely chopped carrots
3 T. Thai red curry paste
1 28 oz. can pumpkin puree
1 ¾ c. vegetable broth
1 14 oz. can light unsweetened coconut milk
2 t. coriander
2 T. light brown sugar (packed)
Optional add-ons:
Juice and grated zest of 2 limes
Roasted pumpkin seeds
Sriracha (or other red hot sauce)
Toasted flaked coconut
Instructions:
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Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add carrots and onions, sauté for 2 minutes.
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Add Red curry paste and sauté for 1 minute.
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Add pumpkin puree; cook and stir for 2 minutes.
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(Apologies as several of my pictures did not turn out for the above…)
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Stir in broth, coconut milk, coriander and brown sugar. Let soup come to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to low and let simmer for 10 minutes.
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If desired*, whisk in lime juice and zest, then season with salt and pepper to taste. (*This strong limey taste may not appeal to all, so I recommend either adding just a little bit of the lime juice, then tasting to determine if you like it before adding all of the lime juice and zest).
Now isn’t that just a gorgeous looking soup! This thick and hearty soup will warm you up from the inside out and will pair wonderfully with salad and bread for a quick weekday dinner!
Until next week, wishing you a Happy Halloween, all of God’s blessings, Good Health and Good Eating!
Smiles, Maria
