Stir in the coconut milk & whip up this rich recipe

Cooktop Cove: Stir in the coconut milk & whip up this rich recipe

By Robin Donovan

Spicy Thai red curry paste is a delightful partner for sweet, oven-roasted pumpkin. The recipe below turns this combo into a deeply satisfying soup. Curry paste is so full of flavorful ingredients—chilies, galangal, lemongrass, lime leaves and more—that you don’t need to add much else to make a delicious soup.

You can significantly shorten the prep time for this recipe by using 2 cans of pureed pumpkin in place of the sugar pie pumpkin. The soup won’t have the same depth of flavor you get from roasting the pumpkin, but you’ll be able to get it on the table in less than 30 minutes. Be sure to check your curry paste’s ingredients to make sure it’s vegetarian if that is important to you.

Creamy Roasted Pumpkin Soup

10 minutes

50 minutes

1 hour

1 sugar pie pumpkin (about 4 pounds), seeded and cut into quarters

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

2 to 4 teaspoons Thai red curry paste

1 teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon ground cumin

3 cups vegetable broth or water

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk

Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Arrange the pumpkin quarters cut-side up on the prepared baking sheet and drizzle 2 tablespoons of the oil over them. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the flesh is very tender. Scoop out the flesh and discard the peel.

In a stockpot or large saucepan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds more. Stir in the curry paste, curry powder, coriander, cumin and ginger. Add the pumpkin, broth or water and sugar, and stir bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

Stir in the coconut milk and cook for about 5 minutes more, until thoroughly heated through. Puree the soup either with an immersion blender or in a countertop blender in batches. Reheat if needed and serve hot.