Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Thai pumpkin and lentil soup



When it comes to pumpkin, the man and I are in total agreement. The only way we appreciate it is roasted or in a Thai flavoured pumpkin soup. There are so many recipes around for Thai pumpkin soup that are essentially a standard pumpkin soup with curry paste and coconut milk added. I've made soups like this before so I decided to create my own this time with additional ingredients to enhance the Thai flavours.

I had some Thai green chillies and lemongrass in the fridge that needed using up and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Red lentils have been finding their way into a lot of my blended soups recently as I love their thickening quality, the nutritional value is just an added bonus. Our little kaffir lime tree had a couple of leaves stripped off for this purpose and I chose to use some Thai thin soy sauce in place of vegetable stock. The Thai thin soy sauce isn't an essential ingredient, regular soy sauce or vegetable stock could be used in it's place which is how I have written the recipe.

It turned out to be fairly spicy which is exactly how I planned it. The amount of chillies could be reduced or omitted to suit personal tastes. I loved the slight undertone of the kaffir lime and lemongrass in this soup and enjoyed an extra squeeze of lime halfway through my bowl.

Thai pumpkin and lentil soup

1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Thai green chillies, sliced finely
3 tablespoon vegan red curry paste (Maesri brand)
1 cup red lentils
4 cups water (or use vegetable stock if not using soy sauce)
1 kg jap pumpkin, cut into chunks
4 kaffir lime leaves
1 stalk lemongrass
3 tablespoons Thai thin soy sauce (or regular soy sauce or omit and use vegetable stock)
165ml tin coconut milk
fresh coriander leaves, for garnish
lime wedges, for serving (optional)

Heat the oil in a stockpot and add the onions. Cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat until softened then stir through the garlic and chillies for a minute. Add the red curry paste, lentils, water (or stock), pumpkin, and kaffir lime leaves. Trim the end of the lemongrass and remove the outer layer, then pound the stalk gently using the back of a knife so that it releases more flavour into the soup. Add the lemongrass stalk to the pot, bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 20 minutes.

Discard the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves then transfer the contents of the pot to a blender and process in batches until smooth. Pour the soup back into the pot and place on low heat. Stir through the Thai thin soy sauce, coconut milk and lime juice. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with wedges of lime.

8 comments:

  1. I'm a sucker for roasted veg Thai flavored soups--this one looks awesome with the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, and chilis! Love it.

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    1. Thanks Jes, the lemongrass, kaffir lime and chillies made this stand out from others I have made before!

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  2. I've actually never tried pumpkin and lentil soup, but I can see how they would pair wonderfully. I also like pumpkin in soup form and not much else, and the Thai flavourings would make it far more exciting than my standard varieties.

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    1. Thanks Kari, I'm pretty hooked on adding red lentils to blended soups these days and they seem to go well with most vegetables. I tired of standard pumpkin soup years ago as I ate so much of it as a child, Thai flavours make it a lot more interesting for me.

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  3. I love roasted pumpkin and I love pumpkin and lentils together in soup so am sure I would love this (but not too much spice). Anything with pumpkin for me really. A kaffir lime tree in the garden sounds very exotic and very useful - does it smell lovely as you pass it by?

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    1. Thanks Johanna, it may be spicy enough for you with just the curry paste. We used to have a large kaffir lime tree that had to be cut down when we renovated the house so our current one is just a baby in comparison. It doesn't have the strongest scent unless you are very close to it.

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  4. Yum, Thai flavoured pumpkin soup sounds just delicious. We sometimes make pumpkin soup that just lacks a bit of oomph, but I think Thai flavours would be really perfect.

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    1. Thanks Theresa, the Thai flavours do work so well in pumpkin soup and it's really easy to make with a bought curry paste.

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