Pumpkin soup with Thai flavours

Pumpkin season!

This autumn our weekly organic vegetable delivery brought us three pumpkins within two weeks. Thank god they keep well, and the cute little hokkaidos decorated our windowsill for weeks.

They became fodder for my coconut milk soup experiments and I finally came up with a wintery recipe for a sweet, sour and spicy soup that I'm delighted with! Despite the long list of ingredients the soup is easy to make, the measures are rough and the ingredients are exchangeable according to taste and season.

Pumpkin soup with noodles and coconut milk

(serves 4-6)

2 small onions
1 garlic clove
1 ginger (thumb-size piece)
1 fresh chili (up to preference and availability)
800ml vegetable stock
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1 hokkaido pumpkin (or 1/2 butternut squash)
200 ml chopped savoy cabbage
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2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 lime
1 tbsp brown sugar
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1 tomato
1/2-1 can organic coconut milk
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Rice noodles
Fresh basil and/or coriander for garnish

Chop the onion, garlic, ginger, and chili and give them a quick fry before you add the stock into the pot and bring it to a boil. Add the cubed pumpkin and the cabbage – if you use spinach, add it last with the coconut milk.

Gently boil the vegetables for 5-7 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft. While the soup is cooking, add the spices while stirring with each addition.

If you want to serve the soup with rice noodles, now's the time to boil them in a separate pot for 4-5 minutes, then pour them into a sieve and rinse them with cold water.

When the pumpkin is soft, reduce heat to low and stir in the coconut milk (start with 1/2 can and add more if it's too spicy or if you prefer it creamy) and add the tomato wedges.

Place rice noodles at the bottom of each bowl and ladle soup on top. Garnish with fresh herbs.