Thai Pumpkin Soup

When I was looking for a new pumpkin recipe, I was surprised to learn that pumpkin is common in Thai cooking. Thai food is delicious and I love pumpkin soup so when I found this recipe, I thought I should try it. It has a rich, exotic flavour that goes well with dark bread or crackers. If you like spice, add an extra hot pepper. For additional colour, sprinkle with sliced red hot pepper before serving.

This recipe is really easy to make, but it needs to simmer for several hours, so start it early in the day or the day before you want to eat it.

Ingredients

8 cups cubed peeled pie pumpkin (or one 796 ml can of pumpkin puree)

1 red onion

2 tbsp grated fresh ginger

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp turmeric

1 small red hot pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tsp red curry paste

1-4oo mL can coconut milk

3 cups vegetable broth

2 tbsp fish sauce (vegans may want to use tamari sauce instead)

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp packed brown sugar

In slow cooker, combine pumpkin, onion, ginger, garlic, turmeric, curry and hot pepper. Pour in coconut milk, broth and fish sauce.

Cover and cook on low for 5 to 8 hours.

Using immersion blender or Vitamix, purée soup until smooth. Stir in cilantro, lime juice and brown sugar. (I didn't have cilantro, which I love, so I garnished with sprouts. It was pretty good but the cilantro would have been better.)

Note that pie pumpkins are smaller and sweeter and much less stringy than jack-o’-lantern pumpkins. You can only get these in season so if you want to make this recipe when the pie pumpkins are not available, try using butternut squash instead. Enjoy!

Nutrition (per serving)

3 grams protein

10 g fat

18 g carbohydrate

3 g fiber

644 mg sodium

560 mg potassium

% RDA:

4% calcium

19% iron

19% vitamin A

17% vitamin C

13% folate