Oh I love pumpkin soup! It is one of the staple meals we have in our household during winter. It is a great way to get nutrients to fight away the winter bugs, and it’s also freezer friendly!
What I like to do is bulk prep the base recipe and pre-portion them into containers and put them in the freezer. And when I’m ready to have it, I’ll just grab one of the containers, and add the additional ingredients to flavour my soup.
I hope you enjoy!
Your Base
Ingredients:
Soup Base:
– 1 Whole Medium Pumpkin (about 10inch diameter)
– 1 Whole Celery (stems only)
– 2 Carrots
– 1 Parsnip
– 1 Medium Onion
Extra Vegetables for extra nutrients (add any of these veges you have on hand)
– Capsicum (Bell Pepper)
– Broccoli
– Cauliflower
– Potatoes
– Sweet Potatoes (Kiwis call it kumara)
Directions:
1. Cut the vegetables into medium size cubes and place into a big pot. Fill with water and boil until the vegetables are soft.
2. Drain the vegetables while saving the liquid or vegetable stock in a separate bowl (you don’t want to throw away the nutrients dissolved in water!).
3. Let the vegetables cool. Using a hand blender / food processor, blend all the vegetables together.
4. Once you’ve blended all the vegetables, you’ve created your soup pulp. Take the pulp you need for however many servings you’re making and put the rest in the freezer for future meals.
5. Add the vegetable stock you’ve put aside into the pulp and place on low heat.
6. Now it’s time to flavour your soup! All you need to do is add the flavour ingredients into your pumpkin soup.
Here are the 3 ways you could flavour your pumpkin soup:
1. Satay Pumpkin Soup (for 4 servings) *Vegan
– 1/2 cup vegetable stock / vegetable stock cube
– 1 thumb crushed ginger
– 1 clove grated garlic
– 2 tablespoons unsweetened & unsalted peanut butter
– 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
– half teaspoon cumin powder
– 1 teaspoon dry coriander
– handful of fresh coriander leaves
– salt & pepper
– top with chopped peanuts, more fresh coriander and dash of almond milk
– serve with whole grain bread with hummus
2. Miso Pumpkin Soup (for 4 servings)
– mix in half cup chicken stock / 2x dissolved chicken stock cubes.
– 2 heaping tablespoons of miso paste
– half teaspoon cumin powder
– salt & pepper
– serve with a side of sushi, or brown rice
3. Spicy Pumpkin Soup (for 4 servings) *Vegan
– 1/2 cup vegetable stock / vegetable stock cube
– half teaspoon ground nutmeg
– pinch of ground cinnamon
– pinch of ground clove
– salt & pepper
– top with chopped cashews and almond milk
– serve with whole grain bread with olive oil
