Pumpkin and carrot go really well with spices, and this creamy soup with coconut milk makes sure there’s just enough pep. Cook the onion with the chilli and lemongrass to let the flavours soak together, add the vegetables and finally mixd in the vegetable broth and coconut milk. Let the autumn soup boil and once it’s done, whizz it in a blender to make it smooth. Garnish the soup with chillies to serve. If you prefer butternut squash, you can use it instead of pumpkin, as these two vegetables are both very similar in taste, although butternut squash has a bit more of a sweet-and-spicy flavour. This vegetarian soup recipe comes with a bit of extra warming kick from the chillies, so it’s perfect for a day when you need a bit of boost. This recipe makes enough of the peppy veggie soup for four people, so if you don’t need as much, just freeze the rest. The soup only takes 40 minutes to make in total, which is great when you want to fix up a dinner quickly.
Looking for more cooking inspiration? We have plenty of other tasty soup recipes for all occasions. The zesty lemongrass is a real pick-me-up herb in a soup.
Ingredients
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 to 3 fat red chillies, deseeded (if you don't like it too hot) and diced
- 2 lemongrass stalks, finely chopped
- 500ml (18fl oz) vegetable broth
- 700g (1lb 9oz) pumpkin (or butternut squash) flesh, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 200ml (7fl oz) reduced-fat coconut milk
Method
In a large non-stick pan gently cook the onion, chillies and lemongrass in 1 to 2tbsp of the broth for 5 minutes to soften.
Add the pumpkin and carrot and cook for a further 5 minutes before adding the remaining vegetable broth and coconut milk.
Bring to the boil, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes or until very tender. Blend until smooth and garnish with chillies to serve.
