Soul-satisfying soup
Thai style pumpkin and sweet potato soup and the many other variations on pumpkin soup are all healthy and warming winter meals.
Photo supplied
By Wendy Hays
MY PARTNER reckons a good winter soup is the elixir of life and a cure all for all ills. While his theory may be a little farfetched, a hearty, well made soup does have a lot going for it.
At a time when many of us are tightening our purse strings at the supermarket and loosening the belts around our waists, soup can provide much comfort and excellent nutrition at a modest cost.
Most of the recipes I will share with you over the coming months are tried and true favourites sourced from family, friends and past colleagues and students.
There are countless recipes for pumpkin soup, but this recipe, obtained from my sister, is inspired by Thai flavours and has a sweet, robust flavour and smooth texture due to the inclusion of sweet potato.
A serve of this soup contributes significant amounts of fibre, vitamin A, iron and potassium to your daily diet.
You can vary the proportion of ingredients to suit your taste and what you have available. Roasting the vegetables in a little olive oil until brown and tender will further develop the depth flavour .
A healthy, homemade stock will give subtlety to any soup, but stock cubes and water, liquid stock or even a cheap packet of chicken noodle soup make quick and convenient alternatives.
This soup freezes well so if you like the first batch, double or treble the recipe when next you make it and freeze for later.
Thai style pumpkin and sweet potato soup
Ingredients
2 brown onions – chopped
2 tbs olive oil
2 tsp Thai green curry paste
2 medium carrots – peeled and chopped
1 kg pumpkin – remove skin and seeds and cut into chunks
2 medium sweet potato or kumara – peel and cut into chunks
1 litre/4 cups stock – chicken or vegetable works well
400ml canned coconut cream
1 tbs soy sauce coriander to serve
Method
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Heat oil in a large saucepan and sauté the chopped onions over medium heat until soft – about 5 minutes.
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Stir in green curry paste and fry stirring to coat the onion for a few minutes – take care it doesn’t burn.
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Add the prepared vegetables and stock, bring to the boil then simmer over low heat for 50 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
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Puree the soup with a stick blender, in a food processor/ blender or pass through a sieve.
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Return soup to the pan and add coconut cream and soy sauce.
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Taste to check seasoning and texture. Serve piping hot with a little chopped coriander if desired
A WARM winter welcome to our new contributor Wendy Hays, who has offered to share her recipes and knowledge with readers.
Wendy has also expressed her willingness to track down requests for hard to find recipes from reader’s childhoods. In her own words,
‘One of my hobbies is collecting old recipe books including handwritten ones. Some of the books in my collection date back to the 1800s.
‘I enjoy these from a sociological view point in terms of the role of women in households as well as from practical perspectives.
‘I am also happy to answer food, cooking and household questions that readers may have.’
