Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

I promised Gabriele a pumpkin soup recipe. There are lots of variations of pumpkin soup. I make a vegetarian version and leave out the bacon. I replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock.

knob of butter and a little olice oil
1 onion chopped
3 – 4 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons mild curry paste (I use curry powder)
3 – 4 rashers of bacon, rind removed and chopped
1/2 cup buttercup pumpkin pieces, peeled and seeded
5 cups chicken stock or 4 cups stock and 1 of water
light seasoning of salt and fresh ground black pepper
coconut cream to garnish (I use plain greek yoghurt)
fresh herbs such as coriander or thyme for garnish

Place the butter and oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook until softened with a gentle heat. Add curry paste and when fragrant (allow about 30 seconds) add the chopped bacon and pumpkin pieces.

Constantly turn the pumpkin to avoid catching. Add stock and cook until the pumpkin softens. Once cooked process with a kitchen whizz until smooth. Season and garnish with coconut cream and fresh herbs.

Note – this soup always tastes better the next day so make it in advance if possible.

And in totally random news – I saw an ad for some new pots. The knobs come off the pot lids. The handles also come off and this allows for easy stacking in cupboards and also the dishwasher. They also have these nifty plastic lids so you can stick them in the fridge. They also come in frypans. I saw some in our local kitchen soup. Man, I’m in love. I’m lusting after these pots, and unfortunately, they’re expensive. I’m not big on kitchen gadgets, preferring to do most things by hand, but I really want these pots!

Do you like kitchen gadgets? Kitchenware shops?

Pumpkin is a member of the Cucurbita family, which includes squash and cucumbers. Pumpkins are grown in most parts of the world. It’s rich in potassium and Vitamin A and contains 90% water. In the USA 80% of the pumpkin supply is available in October.

This is a shot of a small pumpkin market Mr. Munro and I discovered during our visit to Maine a few years ago. (The photo was scanned, hence the black surrounding).
We were fascinated because we don’t have anything like this in New Zealand. We don’t carve pumpkins or eat pumpkin pie (as a rule). As a child, we ate pumpkin whenever we had a roast dinner or sometimes we’d have mashed pumpkin. These days our favorite way to eat pumpkin is in a salad.

Here’s the recipe:

Pumpkin, peeled and chopped into 2-3cm pieces
2 tsp oil
300g can of Chickpeas, well drained
250g round green beans, blanched
1 small red onion, peeled and finely sliced
8 black olives (optional)
1/4 cup of your favorite vinaigrette dressing (we like a balsamic dressing)
150g feta cheese, diced
1/4 cup roughly chopped parsley

Method

1. Combine prepared pumpkin and oil, toss well until lightly coated, season with salt and pepper. Arrange on a baking paper lined oven tray.
2. Cook at 200°C for 25-30 minutes or until golden and tender.
3. Combine the chickpeas, cooked green beans, slices red onion, olives, add warm roasted pumpkin and vinaigrette dressing. Toss gently until well combined.
4. Arrange salad on a platter, scatter with feta and parsley leaves. Serve immediately.

My husband and I like this salad hot but it’s equally good cold, after the pumpkin and green beans have cooled. To vary the salad we sometimes use a can of mixed beans (with kidney beans, chickpeas etc) rather than straight chickpeas.

Do you like pumpkin? What’s your favorite way to eat pumpkin? If you’re in the US, have you carved a pumpkin this year?