July 14, 2016
Last week the weather started getting even colder in Melbourne, so I decided that it was about time that I give in and make some delicious pumpkin and carrot soup. That, and I seemed to have acquired a rather large surplus of carrots. So in the hope of using this surplus up, I decided that soup would make for a great meal for the week.
This was the first time I had made pumpkin soup in Melbourne. I did used to make it all the time at home, so it seems weird that I haven’t gotten on the band wagon yet here. It is such a tasty, filling and comforting meal. Mum used to always make it for me when I was sick, or my sister would make it to use up pumpkin, so it reminds me of home. I guess it’s something you don’t really think of making until you have some ingredients sitting in the fridge waiting to be used. I find it doesn’t really come to me as an option when I’m at the grocery store thinking about what to make! It really should though, because I love it so much, and it is such a simple thing to cook. It is also perfect for cold weather, and a really easy option for lunches during the week.
I had decided before I went to the markets that I would try making a pumpkin and carrot soup, and so when I went to my favourite produce store and saw these amazing French pumpkins, I was even more excited. I’ve never used these before but they are a really vibrant orange colour, and a lot softer than a regular pumpkin. It made for the perfect addition to my soup along with the carrots that I desperately needed to use up.
I had a look at a couple of recipes for inspiration, but I ended up just going with what I felt like, and the results were really delicious. The only problem with it was that I felt really lazy that night, and this proves problematic when you are cooking pumpkin soup. Normally I would recommend blending the soup to make it smooth, however when I was at home I used a stick blender, which made it really easy. I could have blended it in a proper blender (we actually have 3 at home…) but I couldn’t be bothered by the time the soup cooked. So I decided to change my strategy.
That’s why I’ve called it ‘Rustic’. Rustic in my mind is just another word for ‘I couldn’t be bothered to get out my blender’. The soup tasted just as delicious, but it was just a little chunkier than you would normally have a soup. I kind of liked it better in the end, because it felt a little more substantial. This recipe goes to show you can totally be a lazy cook sometimes, brand it something, and then it is totally ok! Because you aren’t always going to want to get out the blender, and you can get just as good a result without one!
- 1/3 French or Jap Pumpkin cut into three pieces
- 5 large carrots chopped into large chunks
- 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 brown onion diced
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon of minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes
- 1 teaspoon of cumin
- ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika
- 1.75 litres of vegetable stock
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Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (300 degrees Fahrenheit). Line two baking trays with baking paper and place your pieces of pumpkin and carrot evenly across both. Sprinkle with cinnamon, and a bit of pepper, and evenly coat with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.
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Place the pumpkin and carrot in the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Once the pumpkin is cool enough, remove the skin.
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In a large pot, heat the remaining olive oil over a medium heat and add the onion, cooking until it is translucent. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli flakes, cumin and paprika, and stir for about a minute.
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Add the pumpkin and carrot to the pot and stir to coat with the spices. Pour in the vegetable stock and salt and pepper to taste, stirring to combine.
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Bring the soup to a simmer and reduce the heat slightly. Cover the pot with a lid and cook for about 25 minutes, or until the pumpkin and carrot has broken down in the soup.
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Using a vegetable masher (or a wooden spoon if you are improvising) to break down big chunks of carrot that may remain in the soup. Taste, and add salt and pepper as necessary.
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Serve hot, either on its own or with some crusty bread. You could also add yoghurt to take the heat out, or a sprinkling of parsley.
So there you have it, my recipe for ‘Rustic’ pumpkin and carrot soup. I highly recommend cooking the vegetables first in the oven, because it allows them to caramelize and get a really delicious flavour before you cook the soup. It also means that the cooking of the soup doesn’t take as long, which is always a plus!
This soup might be a little spicy for some, but for me it was just what I needed. It was deliciously warming and full of flavour from the spices. The spices in the recipe also totally lend themselves to the ‘rustic’ feel of the soup, as it tastes almost Moroccan. You could also play with the amount of carrot or pumpkin you put in based on what you have in your fridge. I know for me I didn’t even get to use all my carrots, so next time I might put more in!
This recipe was the perfect weeknight meal, and I ended up eating it all week for lunch and dinner, it was so good! Perfect for the colder weather, as nothing is better when it’s cold outside than a nice big bowl of hot soup! It was also really healthy, along with being gluten and dairy free. So you can have a delicious, comforting meal without feeling that you are eating unhealthy.
What’s your favourite soup to cook for cold winter nights? I feel like I need to jump on this soup bandwagon now that I’ve started, it seems like the perfect meal to go with this horrible, freezing weather in Melbourne!
Until next time, happy eating!
Ella xx
