spiced (but not spicy) pumpkin soup

So, with the help of my housemates I am in the midst of making some improvements to the cereal diner. Hopefully with the improvements and changes will come better formatting and layout which I am currently having a number of issues with when using Blogger. By the next post the changes will be in place and things will be looking better!

This pumpkin soup is kind of like the chai tea of soups, it is warming, slightly spiced and super comforting. I am rather fond of it. And even better is that it literally takes under 30 minutes to make. It is the perfect cold winter mid week or lazy Sunday treat.

I would like like to say it is a recipe past down from generation to generation but it isn't. It was kind of passed down to me by my Dad, Barry. Dad's pumpkin soup was one of the first things I ever learnt to cook and I remember being super proud that I could make something as simple as pumpkin soup taste super rad. I have made a few changes to the recipe since Dad gave it to me all those years ago but I am pretty happy with the way it is now.

2 cups of pumpkin, cubed
2 cups of vegetable stock
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 a small onion, finely diced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon of fresh ginger, grated
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of thyme leaves1 spring onion, finely sliced (optional)
1 tablespoon of natural yoghurt (optional)
1/2 a cup of cooked brown rice (optional) 
 

Heat the oil in a medium sized pot and sauté the onion, garlic and ginger. Once the onion starts to become opaque add in the cinnamon, allspice and ground cumin seeds and continuously stir until a paste like consistency. Add the cubed pumpkin and stir until the pumpkin is coated in the spice mix. Pour in the stock and turn the heat down to a medium heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir in the thyme leaves and continue to cook until the pumpkin has broken down and your soup is now a thickish consistency.

I don't know why but I really like to eat my pumpkin soup with some brown rice in the bottom of the bowl, this is totes optional but I find it adds a bit of body to it. I also LOVE to eat my soup with a dollop of yoghurt on top and top it off with the sliced spring onions to add some texture.