Thai Pumpkin Soup (and a side of James T. Kirk).

 

 

Sometimes when you're pregnant, you get to eat dinner in bed while watching a marathon of vintage Star Trek episodes (the Shat is the Merde after all). Today we hit the 33 weeks pregnant mark, and what I've noticed lately is that I eat like a horse during the say (we're talking insatiable hunger ici), and then at night can only eat light foods like soup, because otherwise I get sick to my belly. With the crazy amount of pumpkin that we processed over the weekend, a pumpkin soup was only...logical. (HA!)

 

Is it cool enough in your part of the woods for a little pumpkin soup action? Then give this recipe a try. It's got a little bit of heat from the curry paste, and has a really nice myriad of flavors. Since this is a Thai dish, if I were in a stage of life where I could drink, I'd serve this with an Alsatian white or Riesling wine...at least that's what the kind gentleman at 2011's Salon des vins told me when I tipsy-ly bought a bottle (read: three) of his Alsatian wine. So please, for me, pour yourself a nice drink while eating this one.

 

Thai Pumpkin Soup

(adapted from BBC GoodFood)

 

Ingredients:

 

3 cups of pureed pumpkin

2 tsp. of olive oil

1 onion sliced

1 tbsp. of minced fresh ginger

1 lemongrass, bashed a little

3-4 tbsp. of Thai red curry paste (we used green this time)

400 ml can of coconut milk

4 cups of chicken stock

Juice of 1 lime for seasoning

1 red chili, sliced, upon serving for a tasty spicy garnish (optional)

 

Steps:

 

1. Doc used a 2 3/4 quart sized round Le Creuset cast iron dutch oven pot for this dish. Heat the dutch oven over medium heat and add oil, onion, ginger and lemongrass. Gently cook until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Once softened add the curry paste and stir for one minute. Then add the pumpkin puree, chicken stock, and all but 3 tbsp. of the coconut milk.

 

2. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. After cooking for 5 minutes, take out the lemongrass.

 

3. Turn off heat. Let cool for a few minutes and then blend until smooth with an immersion/hand blender, or use a regular blender.

 

4. Return the pot to the stovetop to heat the mixture all the way through, adding lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.

 

5. Serve with the remaining coconut milk drizzled on top, and with the red chili slices on top if desired. And don't forget a good Alsatian wine. And maybe some bread slices to dip in. And some Star Trek...ok I won't push my luck.

 

Bon ap!

 

A la prochaine friends...

 

Honey