Roasted Pumpkin Peanut Curry Soup
- At December 22, 2010
- By megan
- In curry, favorites, peanuts, pumpkin, Savory Spice Shop, Soup, Vita-Mix
0
I love pumpkins, peanuts, and curry, and, I think they combine perfectly for a hearty, healthy, flavorful soup. I enjoy making a pumpkin peanut curry soup at least once each fall. There is something about it that brings me back to a small cafe in Siem Reap, Cambodia, where I specifically recall tasting a pumpkin-peanut curry soup for the first time. After the first spoonful I remember thinking I had stumbled upon a flavor gold-mine. So, if you’re skeptical, give it a try. Let me know what you think.
But, first things first- my recipe:
Ingredients:
- one pie pumpkin
- 1 cup unsalted peanuts
- peanut oil
- 2 yellow onions
- 2-3 cups water
- 2 TB soy sauce
- 3-4 TB maple syrup
- 1-2 TB Vietnamese Sweet Lemongrass Curry (a Savory Spice Shop blend)
Start by roasting a pie pumpkin. I like to cut them in half and drizzle them with something good, like peanut oil for this recipe. Put the pumpkin cut-side-down in a baking dish with the peeled and quartered onions and a little water. Roast this at 400 for 30 minutes or so until you can pierce it easily with a fork or knife.
I roasted a cup of peanuts, so it might be a good idea to spread them on a baking tray and roast them for 5-10 minutes while the oven is heating up. As long as you’re paying attention, this way of roasting peanuts will work just fine. However, if you’re even the least bit scatter-brained in the kitchen, you just might forget about the peanuts and they’ll burn (I’m guilty of this!). So, you decide if you’d prefer to roast the peanuts separately at 250 until golden brown.
Then, into the Vita-Mix go the peanuts to make fresh peanut butter. I know what some people are thinking: “But wait. Why can’t I just use peanut butter?” That’s fine too. I always like to do things the long way, and ever since buying my Vita-Mix, I don’t purchase nut butters since I easily make them at home. So, the next step is to make peanut butter.
Then, add the cooked pumpkin flesh to the vita-mix with a couple cups of water, soy sauce, maple syrup, and blend, starting on low and slowly moving up to high, until it is a smooth puree. Add a little more water if it is too thick.
Transfer the soup to a stock pot and cook until heated through. Add the Vietnamese Sweet Lemongrass Curry from nowhere other than Savory Spice Shop. Mix well.
I had some cooked kale ready to go, so I gave it a coarse chop and added it to my bowl. De-li-cious.
Curried Mahi-Mahi with Coconut Rice
Whole Foods brand “Whole Catch” has good prices on frozen mahi-mahi, so I like to keep some in my freezer. As long as I plan in the morning to make it that night, I have time to thaw it, and it usually turns out pretty good.
When the fish is thawed, I cut it into equal sized chunks and marinate it for an hour or so. For this dish the marinade is:
- 1 TB peanut oil
- 2 TB coconut fat (from the top of an undisturbed can of coconut milk)
- 1/2 TB onion powder
- 1/2 TB garlic powder
- fresh ground black pepper
- Aleppo pepper (or red pepper flakes)
- 1 tsp turmeric
- a pinch of paprika
- a pinch of ground coriander
- 2 TB Kecap Manis (known as Sweet Soy Sauce in Indonesia. You can buy it in Asian grocery stores. Here in Boulder we have a great on right on 28th St.)
I mixed up the marinade really well and tossed the fish to evenly coat. Then I let the fish marinate in the fridge for an hour or so while prepping the rest of the meal. When the rice was just about done, I started broiling the fish, flipping it once, for about 5 minutes on each side.
To make Coconut Rice:
Follow instructions for the rice of your choice, but add some coconut milk and fat to the water while it cooks. Super simple and delicious.
I also wilted some fresh spinach in a pan with some peanut oil and a little soy sauce for some greens on the side.
Maple Curried Pecans
I love making these for Thanksgiving and Christmas. They are addictively delicious.
This recipe is for 1.5 cups of Pecans. It is easy to make a big batch, and the proportions can be tweaked according to taste. I always use the same ingredients, but make them slightly differently, by adding more or less of something. So, have fun with them and enjoy.
Melt 2 TB butter in a sauce pan. Add raw pecans and coat. Add 2 TB maple syrup and coat again. Then 1/2 TB each of curry powder, onion powder, and garlic powder. Mix well. Then 1 tsp sea salt, 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne (depending on how spicy you like them). Mix this all well and spread a single layer on a baking sheet (covered in foil to make clean-up easy) and bake at 250 for 15-20 minutes. Let them cool and enjoy on their own, on vanilla ice cream, on an arugula and pear salad… there are many options.
Pumpkin Peanut Curry Soup
- At November 18, 2009
- By megan
- In coconut, curry, favorites, peanut butter, pumpkin, Soup
- 1
Soup-er easy. Especially if you already steamed a pumpkin and carved out the flesh. I am totally put-off by canned pumpkin, so I took the extra time to slice a pie pumpkin in half, scrape out the seeds, steam it for 30 minutes or until it is falling out of the skin, and finally remove the skin. I think that is the secret ingredient to this simple recipe.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- The cream from the top of 1 small can (5.46 oz) coconut milk, left undisturbed for at least 2 hours
- 2 cups cooked fresh pumpkin
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup crunchy natural peanut butter
- 2 TB soy sauce
- 2 TB Vietnamese Sweet Lemon Curry Powder
- 2 TB Kecap Manis (found in your local Asian food market)
- 2 cups frozen spinach (fresh would be better if you have it- chopped)
- a pinch or more of Cayenne pepper
In a sauce pan, heat half of the coconut creme on medium high and add the onions and garlic. Saute a few minutes before adding the pumpkin, coconut “milk” or “water” and 1/2 cup water. Heat this thoroughly and transfer to a food processor to puree the base with 1 more cup of water and make it smooth.
Next, pour it back into the pot, turn the burner to medium high again, and add the peanut butter, soy sauce, curry powder, and sweet soy sauce. When it is hot and the peanut butter is evenly distributed, add the spinach and cayenne. Bring the soup close to a boil, remove from heat, and serve. I served this with coconut basmati rice and peas.
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