(adapted from a recipe by Anna Jones)
Spring might be coming but these chilly interruptions call for a batch of warming pumpkin soup! Pumpkin soup is a crowd favourite and this recipe adds a bit of gentle spice to liven it up a bit.
Pumpkin soup ingredients
- Splash of olive oil
- 1 leek washed and chopped
- 1 thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 green (or red) chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
- 6 cardamom pods, split and remove husks, then pound with a mortar
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, pounded finely with a mortar and pestle
- 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
- 1kg pumpkin (or squash)
- 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 2 star anise
- 2 litres vegetable stock
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 3 handfuls of spinach (I use black kale instead and chop it finely)
Method
Heat a large heavy pan on a medium heat and add a little oil then sauté the leek, ginger, garlic and chilli for 10- minutes, until soft (make sure it doesn’t catch and burn).
Add the coriander seeds, crushed cardamom and turmeric to the pan and stir for a couple of minutes to release a divine, spicy smell.
Now add the pumpkin, sweet potato and star anise and cover with stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes, topping up with more water as you go. Season and use a hand blender to blitz to a silky smooth finish. Finally, if you’re adding spinach or kale, stir it in and let it wilt.
Spoon into bowls and dip in some freshly buttered, crusty bread and you’ll be warm in no time! This pumpkin soup recipe is also perfect for freezing – divide up into portion sizes so you can just pull out a ready made meal when you need it. Enjoy!
