Spiced pumpkin soup

Preparation time

10 minutes

Cooking time

45 minutes

Serves

Recipe courtesy of

Sarah Marfurt, Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD)

4 large (200g) golden shallots, or 1 large leek

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tbsp margarine or dairy blend

½ tsp celery seeds (or 1 stalk celery)

800g Jap pumpkin (about a large half), peeled, deseeded and chopped

2 large carrots

1 tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground coriander

1L reduced-salt chicken or vegetable stock

pepper

squeeze of lemon or lime juice (to taste)

TO SERVE (optional, not included in nutritional information):

red cabbage, chopped, tossed with olive oil, pepper and cumin, roasted

parboiled and drained cubes of potato, cooled slightly, and tossed in olive oil, pepper and turmeric, roasted

Greek yoghurt, unsweetened

crumbled feta

coriander, washed dried and roughly chopped

roasted almonds, chopped (or pumpkin seeds/sunflower seeds)

If using the shallots, peel and roughly chop. If using the leek, trim and cut in half through the centre. Rinse well to remove any grit, and then chop into pieces; set aside.
Warm the olive oil and margarine over a medium-low heat in a large heavy-based soup pot, while you prepare the carrots.
Peel the carrots, or simply give them a scrub to clean the skins. Chop into pieces and once the oil has warmed, add the shallots/leek, garlic, chopped carrot and celery seeds (or chopped stalk of celery).
Sautee the vegetables, covered with a lid, for a good 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and fragrant.
Add the pumpkin, stir together, and replace lid, continuing to cook like this for another 10 or so minutes.
Stir occasionally to ensure it doesn’t catch. Add a little more oil if needed or a little water will also help to loosen the vegetables from the base of the pot. (Check the heat isn’t too high, as the veg shouldn’t be sticking at this point.)
Add the spices, and continue to cook for a few minutes, lid off and stirring every minute or so, until spices release their fragrance.
Add the stock, a good grind of fresh pepper and cover, bringing everything to a boil. Once at a boil, reduce and simmer for 20 minutes, or until pumpkin is soft. Puree using a stick blender.
Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. I always like to add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice to balance and round out the flavours, too. Serve with the optional extras.