Photo: @flouredfingers_
A vegan pumpkin soup recipe for cold days by Yuliya Mihaylova
Here’s a perfect fall recipe for a smooth, warm and delicious pumpkin soup. It is a healthy and beautiful soup that’s just a tad sweet. It will warm you up from the inside in the upcoming cold days.
See also: Vegan Pumpkin Tahini Pasta Recipe
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1.5 hours
Ingredients
1/2 medium sized pumpkin
2 red bell peppers
2-3 small potatoes
1 head of yellow onion
1 cube vegetable bouillon
1 can (400ml) light coconut milk
Salt, pepper, chili flakes and thyme to taste
Croutons or dry pan roasted nuts and seeds to garnish
Method
Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds (you can bake them later). Peel the pumpkin and cut it into equal-sized squares.
Wash and remove the seeds from the red bell peppers and cut them into similar size chunks.
Spread the pumpkin and the bell pepper on a baking tray, lined with baking paper, pour just a little olive oil and sprinkle some salt, then put in the oven on 200°C for 30-35 minutes. You can check at the 30 minute mark and if it is already soft, take it out of the oven.
While the pumpkin bakes, prepare the potatoes. Poke holes all around each potato with a fork, place it on a plate and microwave it on high. The cooking time for potatoes depends on the size but 10 minutes works for most small to medium sized potatoes. Once done, leave aside.
When the pumpkin is almost done, cut the onion into small cubes and cook it with a splash of olive oil in a deep pan.
Crush the bouillon cube into the pan with the onion and stir well — if needed, pour some water to deglaze the pan.
Once the pumpkin is cooked, put it into the pan, together with the potatoes and the bell pepper. Pour the whole can of coconut milk, add the salt, pepper, chili flakes and thyme and stir.
Leave to cook for five more minutes. Once done, use a hand blender to blend the soup until smooth. Adjust the seasoning to your liking.
I personally like it a bit thicker, so I don’t add any water to it, but you can add 1-2 cups, if you so wish.
The soup goes well with croutons, but I prefer it with some toasted seeds. In a dry pan on medium heat I toast some raw cashews and pumpkin and sunflower seeds. It adds a little bit of crunch to the otherwise super smooth soup, as well as some more nutrients.
You can garnish with a bit more coconut milk or as in my case, with some plant-based cream.
