Thai Pumpkin Soup : LCHF : Dairy Free

Deep orange. Wonderfully spicy, exotic and fragrant. Rich and satisfying. A low carb high fat Thai pumpkin soup for cold, rainy days. And it’s dairy-free, too!

INGREDIENTS:
Makes 6½ cups
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger root
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste (The heat of different brands of Thai red curry paste vary in heat, so if unsure add less curry past to start off with. You can always add more later.)
2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
2 cups water
500 g pumpkin cubes, cut smaller (perhaps buy the packets of cubed pumpkin, but to speed up the cooking process, cut each cube into three or four smaller pieces. Choose the brightest orange pumpkin you can get.)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
400 g can coconut cream
1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt to taste
milled black pepper to taste
toasted pumpkin seeds to garnish
chopped chives to garnish
cayenne pepper to garnish

METHOD:
1. Heat the coconut oil in a large pot and sauté the onion and ginger. Add the garlic and red curry paste; stir-fry for 30 seconds.
2. Add the chicken stock (or vegetable stock), water, pumpkin and tomato paste. Stir well. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer partially covered for 25 minutes. Stir occasionally.
3. Add the coconut cream, fish sauce and lemon juice. Simmer partially covered for a further 5 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat. Liquidise until smooth (you can use a stick blender). Add salt if need be (taste first – the fish sauce is very salty) and black pepper to taste. Reheat if necessary.
5. Spoon into bowls. Sprinkle with rows of pumpkin seeds, chopped chives and a little cayenne pepper.

You can keep this soup covered in the fridge for several days. 

Recipe idea by Dalene Crafford, see it on Sugar Free Revolution site here

If you should need help with measurement equivalents see here
This warming soup is just right for the cooler months, hope you may enjoy some soon …

Thinking about pumpkins, I couldn't resist once again sharing this old photograph of one of our grandsons! I know at the time I wrote … "Wow, well done that's a lovely pumpkin!" …

"Pumpkins can fit into LCHF menu plans quite well ... in fact it can be enjoyed by all." 

"Here’s a riddle: What can weigh 100 pounds, is full of vitamin A, has 9.3 grams of useable carbs, and a twinkle in its eye? Did you guess pumpkin? I hope so. Fresh pumpkin is available for only a couple of months in the autumn, which is a shame. It’s wonderful! Please read more in this post/article here 

Dear readers, you will find a variety of recipe ideas and articles within this blog, and not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan