I love a good pumpkin soup and this one I recently came across is super easy with a bit of a twist of taste which leaves it extra creamy. I never used to roast my pumpkins but I have to say doing this is honestly the best way to get a great tasting pumpkin soup. Pumpkins come in all variety, shapes, sizes, textures and colours. If you fancy growing them, pumpkins need a warm sunny, slightly sheltered spot with lots and lots of room to move. They are both hungry & thirsty plants and do well lots of compost. The flowers that appear on the vine will be either female or male and will hopefully be pollinated by the neighbourhood bees, which then form the pumpkin "fruits" that will begin to form. They take ages to grow so start them in spring and give them a go if you have the room. They are really fun to watch develop. Pumpkins are highly nutritious and contain antioxidants and immune boosting nutrients such as beta carotene, vitamin C, E, Iron & Folate. They also contain enzymes which help digestion and lots of beautiful plant fibre for the whole digestive tract. Pumpkins are good for heart health, lowering blood pressure, protects from certain types of cancers, controls diabetes and helps support eye health.
Recipe:
1 Whole butternut pumpkin
1 yellow onion
5 Peeled garlic cloves
2 cups (500mls) vegetable stock
1 1/2 tablespoons white miso paste
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
Salt & pepper
Coconut milk for garnish (optional but totally worth it and I added a dollop in the soup to cream it up) Again this is optional
Preheat the oven and line with baking paper.
Cut the pumpkins, scoop out the seeds, peel and cut up into chunks. Cut the onion into quarters. Place the pumpkin, onion & garlic onto the tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkles of salt. Roast for 30 - 40 minutes or until the onion is browned and the pumpkin is soft.
Put the baked ingredients into pot add the vegetable stock, white wine vinegar, white miso paste heat a little longer and then blend into a creamy consistency using a stick blender. The recipe called for a blender and I have a good one but I find the stick blender less of a hassle.
I always top most of my soups off with some herbs from the garden. Thyme, basil or chives work well.
Make some croutons or crusty bread or have as is.
I added a dollop of coconut milk after blending and added for a garnish, however you can also add some natural greek yoghurt.
