Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Curried Coconut Soup

There is something about a Sunday that just makes me want to cook. Actually and eat. Cooking and eating – that’s my perfect day right there. A few weekends ago I opened up the fridge to find some sweet potatoes that had been in there weeks and were most definitely on the turn. ‘SOUP!’, I thought. Soup is always the best way to use up veg that has about two days before it turns into compost in your fridge. I clambered around my cupboards to find something to pair with the potatoes and came across a tin of pumpkin that I’ve owned since last year’s Halloween. Pumpkin and sweet potato are about as autumn as you can get when it comes to veggies, so say hello to this extremely seasonal soup recipe that consists mostly of store cupboard essentials.

As with all my vegetable soup recipes I begin by roasting my main veg. Now I actually had a tin of pumpkin puree, but if you have some pumpkins still hanging around then be my guest – chop them up and add them in the oven with the sweet potatoes at the beginning. Just beware that there’s a tonne more prep involved, but waste not, want not and all that. I posted a photo of this up on Instagram and it was by far one of my most replied to stories (along with anything about kitchen storage – we are a right ol’ HOOT, aren’t we?), so here you go. Rustle it up and save it for cosy lunchtimes in, or pop it in the work fridge for your next lunch break…

PUMPKIN & SWEET POTATO CURRIED COCONUT SOUP (makes 3-4 portions): An autumnal root vegetable soup that’s packed with flavour, creaminess and spice. The Pumpkin Spiced Latte of the soup world. LOL.

You will need: 3 sweet potatoes cut into 2cm cubes, 1 finely chopped white onion, 2-3 cloves of crushed garlic, 1 finely chopped red chilli, 1 tablespoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 tin of pumpkin puree (400ml), 1 tin of coconut milk (400ml), 500ml vegetable stock 

Extras: salt, pepper, lots of olive oil, herbs to garnish (I used sage here), cream for drizzling 

Heat the oven to 200°C (directions for a fan oven, so adjust yours as required) and add your chopped sweet potatoes to a baking sheet lined baking tray. Drizzle over a glug of the olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Place in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the chunks are cooked and you can easily slip a knife though them. While that’s cooking heat a dash of oil in a large pan until hot and add the white onion. Cook until it starts to become transparent and then add the crushed garlic, cooking for one minute and stirring before adding the finely chopped red chilli. Give it another two minutes before adding the spices – curry powder, smoked paprika and cumin. Stir to coat the onion, garlic and herb mixture and then tip in the tin of pumpkin puree and the tin of coconut milk. Heat until it starts to bubble and then bring the soup down to a shimmer. When the sweet potato chunks are cooked, put into a food processor or blender with around 200ml of the soup mixture and blend until it’s a smooth paste. Add this smooth paste into the soup. By now it should be pretty thick and so add as much or as little vegetable stock you need until it gets to the consistency that you like – more stock will make the soup thinner and less will mean that it’s more thick – personally I prefer the latter. When it’s hot, season to taste and then it’s ready to serve. Any leftovers will keep in the fridge for five days in an airtight container, or pop it in the freezer to keep for longer. Get comfy, settle down and enjoy your winter warmer.

As it stands it’s a pretty healthy offering as soups tend to be, however I purchased a Truffle infused Olive Oil the other day and it’s absolutely stunning stirred into this. Pop a bit of cream on top too if you’re feeling extra – I can confirm that the addition of both is DELICIOUS. So there you have it! Make it on a Sunday and that’s practically all your lunches sorted for the week and you didn’t end up with mouldy sweet potatoes ponging out your fridge. WIN. WIN.

Photos by Emma Croman

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