A soul-warming pumpkin soup, with miso & ginger for an Asian twist!
It’s soup weather! I have to admit that I’m not a huge soup fan, but if I’m freezing cold, or sick as a dog, I will have soup. There are a few exceptions: a really good tomato soup (with grilled cheese on the side, of course); French Onion Soup (with lots of cheese - hmmm… I’m seeing a pattern here); and as of late, this Pumpkin, Miso & Ginger Soup. This soup warms the SOUL, my friends, and not just because it’s served piping hot. In Chinese Medicine, ginger is considered to be ‘warming’, heating up the digestive system and getting that energy flow, “qi”, going.
This is a very easy soup to prepare - let the veggies roast in the oven whilst you snuggle under a blanket with a good book, add a few more bits ’n bobs to the roasted veggies, and you have got yourself lunch & dinner for days.
I’ve made this with Acorn Squash and Spaghetti Squash, but whatever you can get your hands on will work. No need to painstakingly peel the pumpkin either, you can just scoop out the flesh once it’s roasted.
A tip for meal preppers: Roast double the amount of veggies and freeze half (once cooled) for a very quick soup on another cold day. You’ll thank me later ;) xoxo Kirsty
Ingredients (serves 4-6)
2-1/2lb - 3lb (approx 1- 1.3 kg) pumpkin, any type will do - including spaghetti squash!
2 small onions (or 1 large), each sliced into 6 wedges
2 cloves garlic, skin on
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
a few grinds of pepper
4 cups (1L) low-sodium vegetable stock
2 teaspoons fresh ginger (from roughly the size of your thumb), grated
3 tablespoons miso
1 lime, cut into wedges
To garnish (optional): cilantro (aka coriander), chili flakes, sesame seeds.
Preheat the oven to 400F (200C). Line a roasting tin with foil.
Slice the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. Divide into wedges (about 1” to 1-1/2” or 2.5 to 3cm wide) or evenly sized chunks, and place them on the roasting tin. Add the onion wedges and garlic cloves. Drizzle over the olive oil and toss with your hands, so that everything is coated. Sprinkle over the salt and pepper. Roast for 40 minutes, giving it all a stir halfway through.
After 40 minutes it should be nice and caramelly and smelling absolutely gorgeous - remove it from the oven. Pop the garlic cloves out of their skins and scrape the pumpkin flesh away from its skin. This is easy to do using a spoon and fork.
Transfer the pumpkin, garlic and onion to a large pot over medium heat. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse. Add the freshly grated ginger and whisk in the miso. Blend it all to a smooth consistency with an immersion blender. If you’re going to blend it in an upright blender, please be careful! Hot liquids can cause the top to pop off, splattering you and your kitchen with scalding hot soup.
You can keep it warm at this stage but try not to let it boil. Taste the final product and season with salt and pepper as necessary, add a squeeze of lime from 1/4 lime and divide the soup into bowls. Serve with fresh cilantro, chilli flakes and sesame seeds, with a wedge of lime on the side.