Thai Coconut Curry Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin is one of those foods that I've always thought was just ok.  I don't mind the obligatory slice of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, but apart from a Cooking Light recipe for delicious chocolate chip pumpkin bread, I really don't cook with pumpkin much.    This time of year, pumpkin is everywhere- in lattes at every coffee shop, in muffins at the bakery, in pasta dishes, and soups.  I've tried pumpkin soup before, and it was....ok.  Nothing that I would go out of my way to have again. One thing I've seen before and never thought it sounded good was pumpkin curry.  Not sure why, but those two things just don't seem to go together.  Well, someone probably once thought that chocolate and peanut butter didn't either, but as we all know, that is the most fantastic food combination on the planet!  Since autumn is upon us, soup weather is here (or almost here), and I have an upcoming soup potluck at work, I thought I would revisit the idea of pumpkin soup.  I wanted something different though- nothing spiced with cinnamon, or that in any way reminded me of pie.  To get some ideas, I turned to one of my favorite food websites, FoodGawker.  It's like Pinterest, only JUST for food- gorgeous pictures, and everything links back to a blog or other website where you can usually find the recipe.  FoodGawker is full of pumpkin dishes right now, so there was a lot to peruse.  I saw a number of pumpkin curry soups, but one with a Thai twist caught my attention.  Thai curry is a lot different than Indian curry, and I was curious how it would pair with the pumpkin.

As it usually happens, I reviewed several recipes, but no one recipe was "it" for me, so I took components from different ones and combined them with some of my own ideas.  The result is very  flavorful and has a nice kick to it from Thai red curry paste.  I have a totally different take on pumpkin soups now, and this is one that I will make again and again!

Thai Coconut Curry Pumpkin Soup

Serves: About 4-6

1 tbsp coconut oil (or vegetable oil)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
1/2 of a red bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced finely
2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
2 tsp. Thai red curry paste or to taste- more if you like it spicier
5 cups chicken or vegetable broth (I used chicken)
2 cups pumpkin, canned or fresh roasted and mashed
1/2 cup coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Heat oil in pot and add onions, carrots and red bell pepper.  Cook 5-7 minutes until vegetables begin to soften and most liquids have evaporated.

2.  Add garlic and ginger, cook and stir one minute.  Add curry paste and stir to incorporate.  Add broth, bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are completely soft.

3.  Add pumpkin and mix in well.  Puree in batches in a blender or food processor, or in the pot with an immersion blender, until smooth.

4.  Simmer 15 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste, and stir in coconut milk.

This is one of those dishes that tastes better the next day, after the ingredients have had a chance to meld together.  If you make it ahead of time, add just half of the coconut milk.  Then when you reheat it, add the rest just before serving and swirl in with a spoon, for a pretty presentation.

Curried Couscous Salad

Ever have one of those weeks (or two, or three) that is just non-stop activity, where you barely have time to breathe, much less cook?  That's how it has been around my house for the past couple of weeks.  The closer we get to the end of the school year, the more we seem to have going on.  This past week was absolutely crazy!  I did not cook a single family meal all week, unless you count the one night I scrambled a few eggs for my son on his way out the door to youth group and reheated leftover spagetti sauce for my daughter.  I will admit to having those weeks when we rely on take-out, even though it is expensive and pretty unhealthy.

Today, I have had a little time to breathe (and cook), so have spent a couple of hours in the kitchen prepping some foods for the coming week and cooking a few things for lunches.  I have sliced some lean pork for stir-fry, and mixed up some ground chicken for kefta meatballs, along with tzatziki.  I decided to make a salad to go along side the meatballs, and dug a recipe out of my file for Curried Couscous and Garbanzo Bean Salad, which I found on Epicurious a couple of years ago.  The first time I made it, I did according to the recipe, however, this time I made some of my own modifications.  The original recipe calls for cooking the vegetables in curry-spiced water, but I decided to roast mine instead.  I added the curry powder to the dressing, which makes for a lighter, less intense curry flavor, but still very tasty.  If I were to do this again, I would probably toast the curry powder in a pan before adding it to the dressing.  The original recipe calls for this, and I meant to do it myself, but forgot.  I did not have any fresh ginger, so used powdered ginger instead.  Finally, instead of the white wine vinegar that the recipe calls for, I used a mixture apple cider vinegar and lemon juice.  It works just fine, but feel free to use white wine vinegar if you want.

Curried Couscous Salad
Adapted from Bon Appetit, June 2004 via Epicurious.com
Makes about 6 servings

6 cups vegetables, cut into bite sized pieces (I used carrots, cauliflower, asparagus, and onions)
1 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
1 10 oz box plain couscous, prepared according to package directions
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
4-5 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Dressing:
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
 2 tbsp curry powder
1/4 tsp ground ginger
Salt and pepper to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spread vegetables on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil.  Mix to coat vegetables.  Roast 10 mintues, stir, and roast another 5 minutes or until vegetables are just tender.

2.   Toast curry powder in a pan over medium heat for a minute or so, or until fragrant.  Place in a bowl and add vinegar, lemon juice, ginger, and olive oil.  Whisk or stir to incorporate.

3.  Place cooked couscous in a large bowl and fluff with a fork to separate and break up any clumps.  Add vegetables and garbanzo beans and toss toss gently.

4.  Drizzle dressing over salad, add salt and pepper to taste and toss gently to incorporate.  Cool to room temperature.  Add green onions and feta cheese and toss.

Serve either at room temperature or chilled.  The flavors will meld and become a little more intense with time in the refrigerator.