Pumpkin, Ginger & Kaffir Lime Soup

When this time of year comes around all I see is millions of pumpkin recipes.  Pies, loaves, cupcakes, oatmeal, stews, just about anything you can squeeze a little taste of pumpkin into.  I get super excited because its autumn and it’s all very festive.  But after awhile it sometimes just feels too much.  Blasphemous, I know, to all you pumpkin lovers out there.

I mean, what are you supposed to do when you roast a whole butternut squash and the recipe calls for only one cup of it.  You make some oatmeal which uses up another cup. Then you are left with four more cups with no idea what to do and end up trying to figure out how to avoid eating pumpkin for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next week.  Yes, I could freeze the leftovers and use for recipes in the future, but unfortunately my European mini-sized freezer only fits my staples and pumpkin isn’t one of them.

So what to do? Make soup.  This is my answer to most of my leftover dilemmas.  Who doesn’t love piping hot soup when its raining and pouring outside? And pumpkin soup seems so festive with all the orange-y-ness going on outdoors.  This one is one of my favorites as the ginger cuts through a lot of the sweetness and the secret ingredient, kaffir lime really freshens things up and rounds out the flavor very well.  It’s light and filling and tastes best with a crusty loaf to dip with.  It reminds me again why I get excited about pumpkin in the first place!

Pumpkin, Ginger & Kaffir Lime Soup

Serves 2

• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 small shallots, finely diced
• 1/2 inch knob of ginger, grated
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 2 cups cooked hokkaido pumpkin or butternut squash
• 5 kaffir lime leaves
• 1/8 tsp salt + more to taste
• Lime juice + pepitos to garnish (optional)

Heat a medium saucepan on medium- high heat. Add in the olive oil and diced shallots and saute until softened and very light brown.  Add in the ginger and cook for a further minute.  Once fragrant, add in the vegetable stock, pumpkin, kaffir lime leaves and salt.  Let cook for about 10 minutes until boiling and the pumpkin is heated through.

Remove the kaffir leaves and pour the rest of the ingredients into a high powered blender and blend till smooth.  Transfer back to the pan and add up to 1 cup of water to till you reach your desired consistency. I like mine quite thin, so I usually add the full cup.  Season to your taste.

Serve with a squirt of lime and garnish with some pepitos.

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