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Caribbean pumpkin soup with coconut
A silky, golden soup of pumpkin simmered with thyme, allspice, ginger and a whole scotch bonnet, then blended with a little coconut milk. Warming, gently sweet and served in small bowls to start the meal.
- 40 minutes
- Prep 10 minutes
- Cook 30 minutes
- Serves 4
Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 15g ginger, peeled and grated
- 800g pumpkin or butternut squash (prepared weight), peeled, seeds out, cut into 3cm chunks
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme (about 4g)
- Half a teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 scotch bonnet chilli, left whole and not cut
- 700ml hot vegetable stock
- Half a tin (200ml) coconut milk
- Half a teaspoon salt, then more to taste
- A quarter teaspoon black pepper
- To serve: 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, toasted
Let's cook
- Heat the oil in a large pan on a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft and see-through. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the pumpkin, thyme, allspice and the whole scotch bonnet. Stir so the pumpkin is coated, then pour in the hot stock.
- Bring it to the boil, then turn it down, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until the pumpkin is so soft it breaks when you press it with a spoon.
- While it simmers, toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry frying pan on a medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, shaking the pan, until they pop and smell nutty. Tip them onto a plate.
- Carefully lift out the scotch bonnet and the thyme stalks. Take the pan off the heat.
- Blend the soup until very smooth with a stick blender, or in a jug blender in batches with the lid held down under a tea towel, because hot soup can push the lid off.
- Stir in the coconut milk, salt and pepper. Warm through for 2 minutes without boiling. Taste and add more salt if it needs it.
- Ladle into small warm bowls and scatter over the toasted pumpkin seeds.
Tips
- Use the rest of the coconut milk in rice and peas or keep it covered in the fridge for 2 days.
- A swirl of coconut milk on top just before serving looks lovely: drop a spoonful in and drag a cocktail stick through it.
Swaps
- Meaty Jamaican style: simmer 2 chicken thighs in the stock, take them out before blending and shred the meat back in. Cook the chicken until there is no pink inside.
- Milder: leave out the scotch bonnet. Hotter: let it burst into the soup for the last 5 minutes.
Tags
In Autumn comfort, Plant powered.
None of the 14 allergens is in this recipe as written. Vegetable stock cubes and stock pots often contain celery, and some contain gluten or soya, so check the packet.
Check every packet for allergens.