Thai-inspired Pumpkin Coconut Soup… And it’s Paleo!

Well, it’s certainly been awhile since I posted… so I hope this AMAZING soup recipe more than makes up for it!

About a year and a half ago, I switched to a mostly paleo diet. I cut out all wheat, gluten, most dairy and eat very little legumes. I still toy around with soy, rice, corn and of course my ultimate downfall… sugar. However, this recipe is 100% paleo friendly. There is NO sugar, dairy, wheat, legumes, corn or soy in it.

I’m also hoping this post will inspire me to get my butt in gear and get all the amazing recipes I’ve cooked over the last year up on the blog. I’ve been focusing most of my time getting my body back in shape and cleaning up my diet and have done a great job (if I do say so myself). I’m ready to start sharing my ideas and inspiration with you now!

I went to Trader Joe’s this week and saw pre-cut, bagged sugar pumpkin in the veggie section… which is a seasonal product for them. It’s beginning to get more and more Fall-like here in New England, so seeing that package immediately put me in the mood for pumpkin soup.

I did a quick Google search, which came back with loads of pumpkin soup recipes, but none of them matched exactly what I was looking for or what ingredients I had on hand. I decided to research a few recipes and then write my own… this is what I came up with.

Paleo Thai-inspired Pumpkin Coconut Soup
Makes about 4 servings (1.5 cups each)… maybe a hair more.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp coconut oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 jalapeño pepper, de-seeded and minced
Zest of 1 lime
Thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, half minced, half grated
Pinch of chile pepper
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
Pinch of cumin
1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro (leaves and stems)
1.5 pounds of cubed sugar pumpkin (butternut squash could be substituted)
2 tbsp gluten free fish sauce
1 qt (4 cups) vegetable or chicken stock
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/3 c. coconut cream
Salt to taste
Fresh chopped cilantro, lime zest and coconut cream for garnish

Heat coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic, jalapeño, lime zest, grated and chopped ginger, chile powder, ground coriander, turmeric, garam masala and cumin. Toss to evenly distribute all the ingredients. Add the cilantro and continue to stir and cook until the onions and the garlic become translucent and the spices become fragrant… about 3-5 minutes.

Once translucent, add the sugar pumpkin, fish sauce and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.

Add the vegetable stock. I used Trader Joe’s Organic Hearty Vegetable Broth. You could easily substitute this for any other homemade or store bought broth. To keep it paleo, be sure to check the ingredients for hidden soy, corn and sugar. Mix well and add the lime juice.

Bring the pot to a light boil and let everything simmer for about 10-15 minutes… until the pumpkin is thoroughly cooked. You can check for doneness by inserting the tip of a knife or skewer into the pumpkin flesh. If it’s cooked, it will slide in easily. If it’s undercooked, there will be resistance.

Once the pumpkin is done, add 1/3 cup of coconut cream. Trader Joe’s sells this product… but you could easily use regular coconut milk. Just put the can in the refrigerator for a few hours and the solids will separate from the liquid and form on top. Use the solid portion.

Once mixed well, taste to see if you need to adjust any of the seasonings. I wound up having to add additional garam masala (the ingredient list reflects this change). At this point, I also added a healthy teaspoon of salt. I love salt blends and happened to have a blend of salt, lime and chile on hand… so I used that. It was the perfect match.

Pour all ingredients into a blender. This is honestly the hardest part, especially if your pan does not have a pour spout. You could also use an immersion blender, but I find the free-standing blender does a better job at fully pureeing the food.

To serve, top with a small dollop of coconut cream, fresh chopped cilantro and some lime zest. Toasted pumpkin seeds (great source of Magnesium!) and/or very thinly sliced chile peppers would work nicely as well.

Bon Appétit!