Making (and eating) homemade soup is one of my favourite things to do when its cold and rainy. I love a good pumpkin soup but most dairy free recipes use coconut milk/cream, which is nice but I find it often overpowers the beautiful pumpkin flavour. So I decided to make my own cream using cashews and Pure Delight Hemp Seeds to give my pumpkin soup the creamy texture it needs with the added benefits of omegas from the hemp seeds. You could use this hemp and cashew cream in any of your favourite creamy savoury dishes as a plant based alternative.
Ingredients:
1 kg Pumpkin, cut into medium sized pieces
1 brown onion, diced
1-3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 cup vegetable stock (reserve a couple of tablespoons for the cream)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1-2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons sugar
pepper to taste
150g cashews, soaked
1/2 cup Pure Delight Hemp Seeds
Method:
Place your chopped pumpkin on a tray, coat with olive oil and roast in the oven at 200°C for 20-30 minutes or until cooked through. While that is cooking, make your hemp and cashew cream by combining the soaked cashews (make sure to drain them first) and the hemp seeds with 2 tablespoons of your vegetable stock and 1/4 cup of water in a blender. You may need to add more water until it forms a smooth but not too runny consistency - similar to the consistency of coconut cream.
Once your cream is ready, get started on cooking your soup. In a medium pot, heat up your oil and add you onions. Sauté on a medium heat until translucent (around 5-8 minutes) then add your spices and garlic and fry them off for another 2 minutes. Add your balsamic and cook off for another minute before adding your stock and 3 cups of water. Place the lid on and bring to a boil.
When your pumpkin is out of the oven, transfer it into the boiling pot and let cook for another 2-3 minutes before taking it off the heat. To blend the soup together I used a stick blender in the pot but you can also use a high powered blender if you want - make sure to remove the bay leaves before blending. Once a smooth consistency is formed, add 1 cup of your hemp and cashew cream and blend until combined.
Ladle the soup into bowls, top with a dollop of the hemp and cashew cream and a sprinkle of fresh herbs - I used chives from my garden. I also love to serve hot soup with fresh bread or scones. Yum!
