I made this spicy curry-pumpkin soup for the first time at the end of 2008. So it is a recipe from the absolute early days of gerechtenweb.blog, the original Dutch counterpart of surprising.recipes. But it remains one of my absolute favorite soups and pumpkin dishes. Only my mother manages to make even better pumpkin soup. But is was really time to refurbish the article in Dutch, and publish it for a first time on surprising.recipes.
Is pumpkin carving also a dread and dangerous task for you? Later in this article you can read how you can best do this without cutting your fingers.
spicy curry pumpkin soup
Ingredients
- 1 kg pumpkin Hokkaido
- 1 liter vegetable stock
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 red peppers
- 2 carrots large
- 5 dl diced tomatoes
- 2,5 dl coconut milk
- 0,5 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste
- salt
- cilantro leaves for garnishing alternative: flat leave parsley or basil
- Greek yoghurt for garnishing
Instructions
- Cut the pumpkin flesh into cubes. As they will be mixed later on, these do not need to be very small. Be careful when you cut the pumpkin. You will find some safety tips further down in the article.
- Remove the onion and garlic from the skin and cut into large chunks as well.
- Cut the red peppers in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Finely chop the halves.
- Peel the carrots, cut them in half lengthwise and then cut into half moons.
- Heat olive oil in a large pot and then add the onion and chilies.
- Crush the garlic and add that too.
- After a few minutes you can add the chicken stock, the diced tomatoes and the pumpkin.
- Now bring everything to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes until everything is cooked.
- Meanwhile, add the cumin and curry paste to the soup. Season further with salt if necessary.
- Remove the pot from the heat when the vegetables are cooked. Now mix everything with the immersion blender until you get a smooth soup without cubes.
- Now add the coconut milk to the soup and heat without bringing it back to the boil.
- Serve in deep plates and garnish with cilantro leaves and Greek yogurt.
Nutrition
How to best (and safely) cut a pumpkin?
First and most important: you need a good tool to cut the pumpkin safely. This means: a large and sharp knife. This makes it possible to cut the pumpkin into pieces without putting too much force on you knife. Also, always make sure that your supporting hand is in a safe place. Otherwise it risks to become very bloody when your knife slides out by accident.
In a first step I cut the top of the pumpkin. This also creates a stable surface to put the pumpkin on to cut it in half. For this I go with the tip of the knife next to the center of the pumpkin. Then press the knife down until the pumpkin is cut through one can. Then do the same on the other side. You now have two parts: a bigger one and a smaller one. The reason for this is that the center may be harder. So stay away from that area and cut a bit more aside.
Then remove the seeds with a spoon. Scrape half the pumpkin well so that only the flesh remains.
Now cut the half pumpkins into strips of about 1 to 2 cm thick. I then remove the peel with the knife. However, you can also use a vegetable peeler or a cheese slicer for this. Depending on what suits you best.
Finally, cut the strips of flesh into cubes of about 1 to 2 cm.
A video tells more than a 1000 words. Please find here some good videos explaining how to safely cut a pumpkin into pieces:
- how to cut Hokkaido pumpkin properly (kitchenstories)
- Best ways to prepare a pumpkin (Gourmet tv)
- how to quickly peel, seed and cut a pumpkin (1 minute recipe)
How many pumpkins do you need for this spicy curry-pumpkin soup?
For this soup you need about 1 kilogram (2 pounds) of pumpkin flesh. However, this should not be accurate to the gram or ounce. More or less is also sufficient.
And 1 kilogram of flesh is about what you’re left with from a small Hokkaido pumpkin. For this recipe it is best to use one small Hokkaido pumpkin. This will give you more or less the quantity you need. And don’t worry if it is a bit more or less. Everything will be alright!
Which type of pumpkin should I use?
For this recipe we used Hokkaido pumpkins. These are the small round orange ones. A Hokkaido hast a bit more taste than for example a butternut squash. But you can also use the latter one. One advantage of that is that cutting the pumpkin is a bit easier.
The most common types of pumpkins:
- Hokkaido: the Hokkaido pumpkin is a small red-orange pumpkin. The flesh has a nutty flavour and suits with many dishes. The peel is also edible, like in this spicy roasted pumpkin.
- Butternut squash: a butternut squash is typically bottle shaped and has a yellow-orange color. It has a sweeter, buttery flavour. One big practical advantage is that it is easier to handle and cut.
- Muscat squash: the muscat squash has an intensive flavor. The flesh has a lot of fibre and is orange to red. However, from this type the skin and the seeds are not edible.
Read more about the different types of pumpkins and their usage in these articles:
from acorn to spaghetti:
- 9 common types of winter squash (real simple)
- A guide to the best types of pumpkin (the spruce)
- A guide to all the different types of pumpkins (marthastewart)
- A visual guide to winter squash varieties (Epicurious)
Is this curry-pumpkin soup (too) spicy?
Whether a recipe is (too) spicy or not is of course largely subjective for every individual person. For some people a hint of pepper is already too spicy. People from other regions might eat a red pepper raw without any problem. So it is important to take the personal preferences of the people who will eat the recipe into account.
But don’t be afraid of the spiciness in this curry-pumpkin soup. It is spicy yes, but certainly not putting your mouth in flames. The spicier ingredients are certainly not overdone in relationship to the volume of soup. Because the peppers are pitted and only the skin is used, they will certainly not disturb. Also the spoonful of red curry paste is perfectly fine for this volume. Are you brave? Then you can definitely add some more of the curry paste.
It is very important to taste the soup after mixing. Then you get a good idea of ??how it is with the seasoning. And you still can correct the taste in both directions. If it is a bit spicy, you can add a little more coconut milk to soften the taste. The Greek yogurt in your plate also softens the taste even more.
Finishing this spicy curry-pumpkin soup
We also eat with our eyes. That is why some visual garnishing elements can make this delicious curry-pumpkin soup even more appealing. I usually use cilantro leaves for this. If you don’t like cilantro, you can also use flat-leaf parsley or even basil leaves to replace them.
What I also like to do nowadays is adding a spoonful of Greek yogurt in the middle of the plate. The white of the yogurt gives some extra contrast with the orange-red of the soup.
More surprising.pumpkin
Every year I am waiting for the pumpkin season to make some new and surprising recipes. So don’t be surprised to find lots of delicious pumpkin recipes on surprising.recipes:
- Biscoff pumpkin pie
- Delicious filled pumpkin
- Spicy roasted pumpkin
- Healthy Indian inspired pumpkin pancakes
- Lukewarm pumpkin salad
- Thai pumpkin curry with pork
- Easy Thai pumpkin curry with chicken
If you speak Dutch, you can find the Dutch version of this recipe on gerechtenweb.blog.
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