Ingredients:
800g pumpkin (Can also use butternut squash when pumpkin is out of season)
2tsp rapeseed oil
1tsp chilli flakes
black pepper
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
2tbsp thai red curry paste (if you are vegan, check the label to ensure it doesn’t include fish sauce)
1.2 litre vegetable stock
2tbsp coconut yoghurt
Method:
Preheat oven to 200c Fan
Take about 𝟖𝟎𝟎𝐠 𝐩𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐤𝐢𝐧, remove the seeds and stringy flesh from the middle (keep for later). Dice into cubes and place on a baking tray, drizzle over 𝟏 𝐭𝐬𝐩 𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐢𝐥, 𝟏 𝐭𝐬𝐩 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 and some 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫. Mix to coat, then roast for 30-40 minutes until the skins have softened and the pumpkin has browned on the edges.
While the pumpkin cooks: Heat a large pan or casserole dish over a medium heat. Add 𝟏 𝐭𝐬𝐩 𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐢𝐥 and 𝟏 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧. Cook for a few minutes until the onion has started to soften then add 𝟐 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐜. Continue to cook, stirring regularly, for a few more minutes.
Add 𝟐 𝐭𝐛𝐬𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐢 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞. Cook for 1 minute until you can smell the spices from the paste, then add the 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐩 (that we saved earlier) and 𝟏 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐤.
(𝘛𝘪𝘱: 𝘐’𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝟷.𝟸-𝟷.𝟻𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳)
Bring the contents of the pan to a boil, then reduce the heat and leave to simmer (without a lid). When the roasted pumpkin is ready, turn off the heat on the hob, add the roasted pumpkin to the pan and leave everything to cool.
Using a hand blender or food processor, blitz until the soup is a smooth. If it’s too thick, add some of the stock that you reserved from earlier.
To finish it all off, I like to add 𝟐𝐭𝐛𝐬𝐩 𝐜𝐨𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐠𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭. It’s delicious and creamy but helps to keep this dish completely vegan and dairy free. You could also use half fat crème fraiche, or greek yoghurt.
Season to taste, then its ready to enjoy with a sprinkling of roasted pumpkin seeds!
