Spicy Pumpkin Soup

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It's raining! That might not be a big deal where you live, but here in Doha it's an annual event for a few days at most, and today is the first day it is bucketing down. I may not be so excited about it in a few days time when the sandpit turns into a mudbath, but right not - having splashed and danced in the puddles with the little chefs, I'm feeling refreshed and happy.

It also gives me a good excuse to make my favourite spicy soup...

rain  =  winter  =  soup

I've had a pumpkin sitting in the fridge for a couple of weeks waiting patiently for someone to come and fix my oven. I'm giving up on that for now, and taking to the stove-top to turn this...


into this...


it's creamy and delicious with a refreshing hint of south east asia from the ginger and lemongrass, an earthiness from the ground coriander, a robust richness from the coconut milk, and a smidge of heat from the chilli. This is my idea of heaven in a bowl.

Spicy Pumpkin Soup
  • 1 small fresh red chilli, chopped finely
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 stem of lemongrass, center white part only, finely chopped
  • 3cm of ginger, finely grated (about 1 tablespoon)
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 3 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
  • 800 grams of chopped pumpkin flesh (about 1.5kgs pumpkin with skin and seeds)
  • 1 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon chopped palm sugar
  • 3 tablespoons chopped coriander

Method



  1. Put the chilli, lemon grass, ground coriander, ginger, garlic and a little stock into a blender and blitz into a paste.
  2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and cook over medium eat for 5 minutesAdd the spice paste and stirfry for another minute.
  3. Add the pumpkin and stock and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until pumpkin is tender.
  4. Cool slightly, pop batches into a food processer or blender and blitz until smooth (I often freeze this mixture in 2 cup batches, ready to defrost, reheat and add other ingredients).
  5. Rinse out the pan, put the pumpkin puree back in, add the coconut milk, palm sugar and chopped coriander and reheat. Serve garnished with coriander (if the pumpkin is really sweet, leave out the sugar and squeeze in some lime to liven it up).
By the way the photos are before the coconut milk was added. I didn't have any in the pantry, so will reheat the soup later with the coconut milk and coriander.


Red Wine Beef with Coriander Dumplings

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I'm tired of waiting for summer to end to cook some hearty winter comfort food. Temperatures are still in the 40's but this week I cooked my first winter stew - Red wine beef with coriander dumplings.


The stews I remember from my childhood were hearty affairs with loads of vegetables, served with a mound of mashed potatoes and peas. I still love the simple flavours in the stews my mother used to cook, but I also like to punch them a bit with wine and herbs. I change out the mash as well with parnsip, celeriac or sweet potato and in this recipe I make some chunky floury dumplings to top it all off. As with any recipe, change things around to suit your tastes, subsititute parsley if coriander isn't your thing, leave out the parmesan cheese if you're not a fan, and add in potatoes or red kidney beans to change the texture.

Is there anything more comforting on a cold winters day (and I chuckle as I write that on a bright sunny Doha day) then a big bowl of stew, some fresh crunchy white bread and a pile of mash.


Red Wine and Beef Stew with Coriander Dumplings
This stew also freezes well, so make two, one in a tinfoil container so it's easy to reheat straight from the freezer.
  • 2 kgs beef chuck steak, cut into 2cm cubes
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 5 rashers of bacon, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped finely
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 large tomatoes diced (or 1/2 can diced tomatoes)
  • 2 large parsnips, chopped into 1cm pieces (I used carrots as couldn't find parsnips)
  • 5 cups good quality beef stock
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme)
  • 1 teaspoon worcestshire sauce
  • salt and pepper to season
  • 2 tablespoons cornflour mixed with 50mls water
For the dumplings
  • 1 1/2 cup plain flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • 5 tablespoons chopped coriander (or parsley)
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Method
  1. Heat half of the oil in a big pot and brown the beef (you might need to do it in two batches), set aside
  2. Heat the rest of the oil in the pot and fry the bacon (you lucky thing), onions and garlic for  few minutes
  3. Add the beef back in with the parsnips, wine, beef stock, thyme, tomatoes and worcestshire sauce. Cook stove top on a low heat for 1 hour.
  4. Thicken with the cornflour and water mixture. Cook for another 10 minutes, and season with salt and pepper - transfer the beef mixture to a casserole dish.
  5. To make the dumplings - whisk together the milk and eggs, and add the herbs. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, then add the egg mixture and parmesan and stir. The mixture will be quite sticky.
  6. Put teaspoonfuls on top of the stew about 1cm apart and bake in the oven at 180 degrees celsius (350 degrees fahrenheit) for 15 minutes until dumplings are puffed up and golden on top. Serve quite simply in bowls with some crusty french bread to mop up the sauce.