Thai Red Spiced Pumpkin Soup

So here we are in the middle of January, in the middle of the week on a very wet and cold day in Manchester… But hey, it’s not all that bad! I still have an excuse to wear my comfies and eat my way through the winter without worrying about working on my ‘bikini bod’, that can definitely wait until warmer climes.However, I could definitely do with a pick me up to get through the January blues, it’s still a long way to pay day after all. That’s why tonight I made my all-time favourite winter warmer soup; my rich and spicy Thai red curry spiced pumpkin soup.

This is SO delicious and super quick to make. Thick, sweet, velvety pumpkin puree mixed with rich coconut cream, fiery red chilies and aromatic Thai spices topped with a cooling swirl of cream, a peppering of fresh fragrant chives and a smattering of grilled crispy bacon shards, D-licious!

Soul Food

Every mouthful feels like it’s doing you some good. It’s what I call my ‘soul food’. It is definitely food that feeds the soul, there’s a comforting hug in every mouthful…. And it will certainly warm your cockles on a cold winters night!

Hooray For Tinned Pumpkin

I have previously always made this dish with fresh pumpkin, which I love, I mean we all know that I’m a little obsessed with these gloriously orange, round knobbly veggies, you only have to look at some of my previous posts (there’s a theme!) but they are so incredibly versatile.

You can make desserts, starters, mains and snacks. Not to mention they are so good for us as they are packed full of vitamins and nutrients and filling too.

Healthy too

The flesh alone counts as one of your 5 a day and the seeds roasted and seasoned with some cumin, cayenne and sprinkling of salt make for a delicious nutritious snack or topping on salads. However, my only gripe with these lovely veggies is that my kitchen looks like a pumpkin slaughter house once I have finished hacking out the flesh.

When I make soups I like to do so with minimum effort. So when I stumbled across a tin of 100% pure pumpkin puree one day in Tesco I was in my element (tip, look in the world food isle). All of the work taken out and none of the additives added in. Win!

Of course, if you’re not as lazy as me, then by all means use the fresh pumpkin, you just need to cook the flesh until soft and whizz it (flesh only) up into a puree.

The full recipe for this can be found below but in short you simply sweat down some chopped onion in a small amount of oil of your choice, once translucent add the chilies and Thai red paste and cook for a few minutes.

Add the stock to the pan, stir and allow to reduce a little, I do this to get the full flavour out of the onions, chilies and the paste. Then add the pumpkin puree and stir, slowly bring to the boil then leave to simmer for ten minutes.

Meanwhile lay strips of streaky bacon (I brushed mine with a little honey for an added bit of sweetness) between two sheets of baking paper and place on a baking tray and place another baking tray on top I do this to get the bacon really thin and crisp. Place under the grill for approx. ten minutes. Once crisp, remove from the grill and allow to cool. 

Back to the soup, if you want a very smooth soup, then at this stage Blend the pumpkin/stock mixture in a food processor or using a hand-held processor (be careful not to splatter the hot liquid over yourself if using a hand held one, I’m talking from experience here!).

Once the mixture has simmered and is the texture of your liking, add in the coconut milk and stir well. I personally like to use the full fat cream, purely because the texture is thicker which gives a wonderful richness to the soup, though the reduced fat one is perfectly good to use.

Allow to simmer for 5 -10 minutes to allow all of the flavours to marry together. Once ready, ladle the soup into a bowl add a swirl of single cream or crème fraiche, scatter over some chopped chives and crumble the bacon on top. It’s that simple!

I have added in some ways of making a healthier version of this soup as well as some alternative toppings below. I however am cooking this for pure unadulterated comfort and pleasure, so on this occasion I’m gonna stick to full recipe 😊

Recipe Notes:

Alternative toppings, I always like a bit of texture when I make smooth soups, I find it just adds another dimension to the soup, here are some ideas of other topping that would go with this soup:

Chilli croutons, simply rip up some crusty bread, drizzle with chili oil and toast in the oven until crisp. Rosemary croutons work well with pumpkin too, use a plain (or rosemary infused) oil, sprinkle on some fresh or dried rosemary onto the bread and toast until crisp.

Vegetable crisps: I personally like parsnip crisps on my soups. – Peel the parsnip into long thin strips using a vegetable peeler, spray a little oil over them, season if desired and place in the oven until crisp. These would also be great done in an air fryer too! Onion crisps are also a great topping for this soup.

Toasted pumpkin seeds, as mention above, spread the dry seeds out on a baking tray, spray with a little oil and season with herbs and spices for extra flavour. Toast in the oven until crisp and sprinkle them on.

I’d love to hear your ideas on alternative toppings!

Thai Red Spiced Pumpkin Soup

January 17, 2019

Servings: 4

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 30 min

Total: 40 min

Difficulty: Super Easy

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Thick, sweet, velvety pumpkin puree mixed with rich coconut cream, fiery red chilies and aromatic Thai spices topped with a cooling swirl of cream, a peppering of fresh fragrant chives and a smattering of grilled crispy bacon shards. A real winter warmer!

By: Season2k

Ingredients

• 1 can of pumpkin puree
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 200 ml of chicken/vegetable stock
• 2 TBSP of Thai red paste
• 1 red chili chopped
• 1 medium sized brown onion diced
• 4 TBSP sour cream
• 1 bunch of fresh chives
• 4 rashers of streaky bacon
• Pinch of dried chili flakes
• Drizzle of honey (optional)
• 2 TBSP of oil

Directions

• Step 1 In a pan gently fry diced onions in oil until translucent
• Step 2 Add chopped red chilies and red Thai paste and cook out for a couple of minutes
• Step 3 Add the stock and dried chilies to the pan, stir all the ingredients together and gently simmer for 5-10 minutes
• Step 4 FOR THE BACON: lay strips of streaky bacon (I brushed mine with a little honey for an added bit of sweetness) between two sheets of baking paper, place on a baking tray and place another baking tray on top. Place in the oven for around 10 mins at 180C
• Step 5 Once the bacon is crisp remove from the oven and allow to cool
• Step 6 BACK TO THE SOUP: Once simmered, blend the soup until smooth
• Step 7 Add the coconut milk and simmer for a further 5-10 minutes
• Step 8 Ladle soup into bowls
• Step 9 Drizzle a swirl of cream, sprinkle over chopped chives and crumble shards of crispy bacon on top

Dietary Notes:

Is this gluten free?

Yes, just make sure your toppings are too! If you want to make croutons use gluten free bread

Can I make this vegetarian?

Sure, just swap the chicken stock for vegetable stock or water.

Can I make this healthier/lower in fat?

Absolutely, there’s a few ways.

• I would suggest using low fat coconut milk or omitting the coconut milk all together. If you leave out the milk just add more stock or water to give it the consistency you desire. You just end up with a spicier soup that packs a bit more of a punch but still incredibly delicious (tried and tested).
• Swap the swirl of cream for plain yoghurt or omit altogether.
• Swap the Bacon shards for, turkey rashers or toasted spiced pumpkin seeds to provide texture and goodness.
• Use reduced-salt stock or water to lower the amount of salt in the soup.