'Is it really still summery in your neck of the woods,' I asked of a dear friend who now lives up north. 'Yep,' she replied. 'We're expecting blue skies and a balmy 28 degrees C today.'
Her response had me swooning, particularly as I had woken up to a brisk Canberra morning, heavy with thick fog and grey skies.
Life is still very busy at The Blue House, and with my book nearing completion, I still don't have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen. Besides, Peter and I are doing our utmost to lose some weight. We're succeeding too, by the way. He has lost some twelve kilograms, while I have shed over eight kilograms... and I am still counting.
We are both feeling better for it. Those middle-aged aches and pains are abating, and we both have more energy for swimming laps and aqua resistance training at the pool, and cycling at break-neck speeds around the local duck ponds. In a recent article featuring my review of the IKEA multigrain bread mix, I mentioned that I had teamed the freshly baked bread with a roasted butternut pumpkin soup. I also promised that I would share my recipe with you. A few lovely readers have already emailed to enquire about the recipe, so here it is for you. One of the things that I like about the cooler months, is that it's so delicious to have the oven on, especially when you can bake bread and roast something alongside. That's what I did here. The pumpkin, garlic and onion were on one shelf, the bread tin on another. The vegetables are roasted, not fried, so the soup is quite wholesome, methinks. As you are baking entire pieces of pumpkin, there's no dicing and peeling involved. And, with a hint of curry, the soup tastes delicious, too. I should mention that the dollop of sour cream was entirely (naughty) Peter's idea. If you prefer, you can serve the soup without it, or use Greek yoghurt instead. Oh, and I would usually finish off the dish with a sprinkle of chopped chives, but my man says they taste like 'grass clippings'. Go figure. ROASTED BUTTERNUT PUMPKIN SOUP 1.5kg butternut pumpkin* 1 large brown onion 2-3 cloves garlic 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste 300mls vegetable stock 1 teaspoon curry powder, optional sour cream or yoghurt, to serve Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Line a roasting tin with baking parchment. Cut the pumpkin in half, lengthways. Scoop out the seeds from the core and discard them. Leave the skin on, now wash the pumpkin halves and pat dry with paper towelling. Using a sharp paring knife, carefully peel the skin off the onion, leaving the base and top intact. Leave the onion whole. Peel the garlic cloves and leave them whole. Arrange the pumpkin halves, the onion and the garlic cloves onto the prepared baking tin and drizzle with the olive oil, then season with sea salt and cracked pepper (see images below). Roast the vegetables for an hour, perhaps longer, until the flesh is tender (see images below). Allow the vegetables to cool slightly, then scoop out the flesh of the pumpkin and place it into a food processor, along with the roasted onion and garlic. Puree until smooth. (With the Tefal Cuisine Companion, fit the ultrablade to the bowl, then blend on speed 12 for three minutes). Pour the stock into the bowl or jug and process until thoroughly combined. If using curry powder, add it now. If using the Tefal Cuisine Companion, turn to slow cook setting and reheat the soup until it is ready to serve. Otherwise, transfer the soup to a saucepan and heat until warmed through. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or yoghurt, if desired. Serves 4. Preparation and cooking time: allow one and a half hours maximum. *Buy two butternut pumpkin halves to save time if you wish.
Tell me dear readers, it is like summer or winter in your part of the world? And do you think herbs such as chives taste like grass clippings?
33 Comments
Bob Bennett
18/5/2016 03:48:59 am
Ha ha. That's exactly what I think about those greens. Saw this on facebook. Thanks for sharing.
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Lizzy
20/5/2016 06:27:30 pm
Cheers, Bob. I will tell Peter you are on his 'side'.
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18/5/2016 05:43:36 am
I have a similar recipe and it's very good to have on hand when you don't have a lot of time. We usually bake the pumpkins whole :)
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Lizzy
20/5/2016 06:27:51 pm
Nice one, Lorraine.
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Peter
18/5/2016 07:41:07 am
They DO taste like grass clippings. Ugh.
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Lizzy
20/5/2016 06:28:11 pm
They do not!
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Simone Mason
18/5/2016 07:41:27 am
I love this.
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Lizzy
20/5/2016 06:28:48 pm
Me too, Simone. I first started making it when my children were little, about 30 years ago... we were growing pumpkins at the time. x
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18/5/2016 09:48:12 am
Wow, that's some significant weight loss! Congrats. You're an inspiration to all of us that could lose a few. Anyway, it's been chilly and gloomy here the last few days -- soup weather! Perfect timing. :-) Thanks so much.
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Lizzy
20/5/2016 06:29:09 pm
John, thanks so much.
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18/5/2016 10:05:26 am
Summer has arrived here in California but I love butternut squash soup or coulis anytime of the year. Congratulations on loosing all that weight., that's an accomplishment. My husband doesn't like chives either but I like them.
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Lizzy
20/5/2016 06:29:34 pm
Chives are good, aren't they, Gerlinde x
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18/5/2016 05:44:36 pm
I have to disagree with peter!
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Lizzy
20/5/2016 06:30:05 pm
Oh, thank you Elizabeth... I will post a new photo soon... thank you for your kind words. x
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18/5/2016 08:23:07 pm
Love the way you've intensified the flavours by roasting the pumpkin first. And what a clever idea to pop the onion in the pumpkin cavity. (And PS, yes it is indeed beautiful weather up here!)
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Lizzy
20/5/2016 06:30:38 pm
Still very envious, Christine, thank you for stopping by x
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Eha
18/5/2016 08:34:18 pm
Oh yea - especially with the curry not forgotten! . . . . and the easiest prep in the world!!
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Lizzy
20/5/2016 06:30:57 pm
Absolutely xx
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18/5/2016 11:18:58 pm
Love this soup. I make a very similar one and is one of the most delicious things to eat during winter.
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Lizzy
20/5/2016 06:31:18 pm
Isn't it wonderful! x
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19/5/2016 12:02:17 am
More importantly, how does he know what grass clippings taste like? Love the way you roasted the veggies Liz 😀
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Lizzy
20/5/2016 06:31:55 pm
That is an exceptionally good point Tandy! If he is anything like me, he probably ate grass as a child. : )
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Lizzy
20/5/2016 06:32:37 pm
Hi Glenda, I hope you will enjoy it... that's how I started making this soup so long ago... we had a lovely bounty too.
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19/5/2016 01:40:49 am
as nice as this looks Liz, we are not a pumpkin soup kind of family:) I just keep remembering that the Yanks feed it to their cattle and pigs (except for Thanksgiving pies) :=)
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Lizzy
20/5/2016 06:32:59 pm
That is too funny, Sherry : )
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19/5/2016 11:31:00 am
Congratulations on the weight loss. That's much harder to do when it is cooler and your body naturally wants so hang onto what you want rid of! So double well-done. It is late spring here and feeling not too warm just yet, although we were teased with a couple of weeks with no jackets. We had soup yesterday and probably for a wee while yet. This looks lovely and simple.
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Lizzy
20/5/2016 06:33:28 pm
It really is simple, Kellie... I hope the warm weather comes your way soon x
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Lizzy
20/5/2016 06:33:50 pm
Thank you for your kind words xx
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20/5/2016 05:26:31 pm
I love the creamy texture of this soup, it looks perfect!
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Lizzy
20/5/2016 06:34:12 pm
It's thick and delicious x
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Cooking and writing have been a lifelong passion. Join me as I share with you my favourite recipes; postcards and morsels from my travels; conversations with cookery writers and chefs; and news on food, cookbooks and cooking. - Liz Posmyk
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NB: I use Australian standard measuring cups and spoons in my recipes.
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