Hello Pumpkin!

Tis the season .... for Pumpkins.  Happy Halloween to you all.  Now Im sure youve carved your lanterns ready for this weekend trick or treating, sure youve got the costume sorted for the party and have stacks of sweet treats for the kiddies!  Well we have a couple treats for you too - using the humble pumpkin we have come up with a soup and a latte recipe that you can try with the leftovers from the carving this weekend.

 

Taking a twist on the traditional pumpkin soup, we’ve made a wonderful Thai spicy version to warm you up after the trick or treat adventures (be warned, it took a few attempts to get the spice right on this one – please feel free to experiment yourself, however we advise you go easy on the red Thai curry paste if you haven’t used it before!)

THAI SPICED PUMPKIN SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

Approx 2kgs PUMPKIN – you can also use butternut squash (which is actually a lot cheaper) or even sweet potato if you prefer

ONION  - white onion – about half a medium sized one

GINGER  - fresh, peeled – no more than about an inch

GARLIC– 2-3 cloves

RED CHILLI – we used 1 fresh and quite large one, with seeds

COCONUT MILK – Just one can – you can use the light or half fat ones too if you prefer

RED THAI CURRY PASTE  – paste not sauce, add a little (like half a teaspoon) and taste - you can always add more spice easier than diluting, or calming it down if its too hot!

VEGETABLE STOCK – 1 cube, ½ pint of boiling water

LIME JIUCE – we squeezed half a lime over each portion – straight onto the bowl when served, not added during cooking

METHOD:

• Chop the ginger, garlic, chilli, onion and add to a little oil in a pan 
• Chop the pumpkin (after de-seeding) – the seeds can be left to dry then you can toast them off and use over avocado on toast! 
• Add the pumpkin to the spice mixture in the pan and cook off for about 10mins until it starts to go soft 
• Add 1 can of coconut milk and ½ pint of veg stock, bring to the boil and then let it simmer for another 10-15mins 
• At this point you can add the their red curry paste too, plus some salt and pepper to taste 
• Keep tasting while its simmering and add more paste, salt, pepper as required 
• Let it cool after about 10-15mins, then transfer the mix to your blender and blend up for approx. 30secs, or until creamy and smooth 
• Portion into bowls, squeezing the juice of half a fresh lime on top

We also added a little roasted veg and cray fish to our bowl to bulk it up as a hearty dinner!  Another serving suggestion would be to add beansprouts, gently fried – pile up in the middle of the bowl and add the soup over the top.  OR fry off some king prawns in chilli oil and place on top.  OR you can leave some softened pumpkin pieces unblended and add them back into the soup along with some of the seeds toasted off in a dry frying pan - should give extra bulk and texture.

If you prefer, you can of course just go for a heart-warming traditional pumpkin soup.  

TRADITIONAL PUMPKIN SOUP:

To make the base we would gently sauté garlic / onion/ leek / celery together in a little butter.  Add dried mixed herbs then the diced pumpkin.  Again cook off for 10 mins or so until the pumpkin is soft, then add a pint of vegetable stock.  Add salt and pepper to taste, bring to the boil then simmer down until all the vegetables are really soft and mushy.  At this point you can leave to cool and then blend, or you can add some single or double cream before blending to ensure your soup gets that smooth, creamy and shiny texture.

Another pumpkin tradition this time of year, is of course the pumpkin spice latte –we know this and begrudgingly we may have treated ourselves from the local coffee chain already….BUT you can make them up yourself for an indulgent treat this weekend.  It takes a little more effort than I would usually like for a coffee to be honest, but if you want to try it – this is the way we found works best:

PUMPKIN SPICED LATTE:

INGREDIENTS:

PUMPKIN PUREE  – 2 large tablespoons

BROWN SUGAR – 2 teaspoons

MILK – about half a cup

VANILLA ESSENCE – 2 teaspoons

CINNAMON & NUTMEG – ground (add to taste – a lot or a little depending on how sweet or how much flavour you want coming through)

WHIPPING CREAM - again add to taste, we used about ¾ of a cup whipped up then 2 tablespoons floated on top

BLACK PEPPER – a large pinch

METHOD:

• Heat the milk and vanilla essence in one pan 
• Heat the pumpkin puree and brown sugar in another – this should be stirred continuously until it starts to caramelize 
• Once the pumpkin and sugar has blended together, slowly add the milk and vanilla mix, stirring all the time so keep it lump free, smooth and silky (it all goes brown and looks like gravy when its done) 
• While adding the milk, add the cinnamon, nutmeg and black pepper too – tasting as you go and adding more as required 
• Brew up one shot of espresso and add to the mug first 
• When the mix is smooth and runny, add this to your coffee 
• In the meantime whip up the cream until its stiff 
• On top of the coffee and pumpkin / milk etc mix spoon on the whipped cream so it floats on top, then sprinkle over a little more cinnamon

There are ways you can make this healthier.  You can make your own pumpkin puree (we used a can in this recipe). You can make it dairy free.  You can make it caffeine free.  Honestly though - no nonsense - this is supposed to be an indulgent treat!  I don’t have a particularly sweet tooth and would prefer the soups any day, but if you want to go for it and try it yourself, making this pumpkin spice latte at home is probably still better for you than buying any coffee shop versions.  Not by much mind you, so we’d suggest you make sure it’s a seasonal indulgence and not a drink you should order every morning on the way to work! Enjoy for now though and have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN !!

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**Please remember this is nutritional advice ONLY (as is all other information contained in this blog, the website and social media related to it) None of the info or advice is intended to override any recommendation from your GP or health professional**