Serves 4 as a main course or 6 as an entrée.
Wonder at the versatility of your Old Dutch as you create and serve this vibrant orange spiced and roasted pumpkin soup. Isn’t she a thing of great beauty! And is it not the most delicious pumpkin soup you’ve ever tasted?!
Here’s to a century ahead of Ironclad Dutch Oven cooking! Welcome to your journey.
THE ROASTING
1.6 kg buttercup pumpkin, peeled and deseeded
2 large onions sliced finely
3 inch ginger, peeled and sliced
2 bulbs garlic, halved
4 T olive oil
1 t salt
5 bay leaves
2 large mandarins, halved
THE SPICE TEMPER
1 ½ T whole coriander seeds
1 ½ T whole cumin seeds
1 T fennel seeds
½ t cardamon seeds (not pods)
1 cinnamon stick
1 t turmeric
1 tin coconut milk or cream
THE FINAL SIMMER
4 -5 c hot vegetable or chicken stock
3 T lemon juice
Extra salt and pepper
Heat oven to its highest setting and place all roasting ingredients in your Old Dutch pot. Massage in the olive oil and salt and roast for 1 hour, turning every 20 minutes to distribute and ensure even roasting of the vegetables and fruit. An hour in, remove the mandarins.
On the stove top, heat the Old Dutch Lid till smoking. Turn heat to low, toss in the spices and stir for 1 minute or until you can smell the releasing aromas. Do not let it burn! Pour in the coconut milk and simmer for 2 minutes. Transfer the mix to a bowl and leave to cool down a little. When cooled, pour the mix into a Nutribullet or blender with the roasted mandarins and blend until very smooth and creamy.
Transfer the pot of roasted pumpkin to the stove top on a low heat. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of its skin and add the coconut spice mix and stock. Simmer for 15 minutes, until the pumpkin is very soft. Remove the bay leaves and blend the soup with a stick blender until smooth. Add a big squeeze of lemon juice at the end of the cook, also checking for seasoning. Does it need more salt? Pepper? The choice is yours. And the texture... If you’d like a slightly thinner soup, add a little more hot stock and bring back up to the boil before serving.
TO SERVE
SESAME CORIANDER AND COCONUT CREAM
½ c coconut cream - use the thick cream from the top of the can
½ c toasted sesame seeds, cooled
1 t toasted whole coriander seeds, cooled
Large handful fresh coriander
Salt to taste
3 t chilli oil or sriracha sauce
Blend all ingredients except chilli oil/sriracha in your blender till creamy, smooth and vibrant green.
Drizzle 5 T of this green cream over the top of the hot soup and swirl with a fork to create a ripple effect and finish with a drizzle of chilli oil or sriracha.
Serve hot to the table with extra green cream and chilli on the side and chunks of pumpkin seed focaccia bread (made in the Old Dutch lid).
YUM.
