My lovely neighbors decided to have a Halloween party this Sunday. They even got me a witches hat. Everyone must bring a seasonal dish so here is my offering roasted pumpkin and coconut soup. It’s a take on Delia’s roasted pumpkin and melting cheese. I love it ! it’s comforting and feel good soup. Perfect served as starter.
Ingredients:
Pumpkin 1.5kg
Oil groundnut oil
1 large diced onion
garlic
a knob of butter
freshly grated nutmeg
500ml vegetable stock
1 can of coconut milk
To serve:
croutons
cheese
parsley
Method:
Begin by cutting the pumpkin in half through the stalk,then cut each half into 4 again and scoop out the seeds using a large spoon. Then brush the surface of each section with the oil and place them on the baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper, then pop them on a high shelf of the oven to roast for 25-30 minutes or until tender when tested with a skewer.
Meanwhile melt the butter in a large saucepan over a high heat, add the onion, stir it round and when it begins to color round the edges, after about 5 minutes, turn the heat down. Let it cook very gently without a lid, giving it a stir from time to time, for about 20 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a further 5 minutes.Then remove the pumpkin from the oven and leave it aside to cool.
Now add the stock and coconut milk to the onions and garlic, and leave them with the heat turned low to slowly come up to simmering point. Next scoop out the flesh of the pumpkin with a sharp knife and add it to the stock together with a seasoning of salt, pepper and nutmeg. Then let it all simmer very gently for about 15-20 minutes. Next the soup should be processed to a puree. Because there’s a large volume of soup, it’s best to do this in two halves. What you need to do is whiz it until it’s smoothly blended, but as an extra precaution it’s best to pass it through a sieve as well in case there are any unblended fibrous bits. Taste and season well, then when you’re ready to serve the soup, re-heat it gently just up to simmering point, being careful not to let it boil.
Garnish each bowl with a few croutons if you like them, and a sprinkling of parsley or coriander. Happy Halloween!
