Pumpkin-Carrot Soup with Curry Butter

Some time back I had friends over for dinner. I wanted to offer them something that combines the flavours from Europe with India and is suitable for everyone, meaning not too spicy but at the same time not bland. The week before the dinner I started experimenting in my kitchen. I was clear that I wanted the base to be pumpkin. However I find that pumpkin on its own does not have that much flavour. That's when I started adding carrots to it. As the week went by I experimented with different ratios of pumpkin and carrots. I also started adding various Indian spices to it. I can tell you I had a lot of soup that week until I ended up with this recipe.

And I learned a few things during that week. One is, it sometimes makes sense to add up spices at the end as they otherwise cover the flavour of other ingredients. Another one is that you don't need cream to get a creamy tasty soup. Which makes this soup a great option for people who are on diet. Lisa, this recipe is for you.

For the curry butter I melt 50g butter over low heat. When the butter is half melted I add to it 20g Madras Curry Powder and stir it until you have a smooth mixture. Cook the curry butter for 2 minutes over low heat. Take care that the butter does not separate. Set aside and let it cool down.

While the curry butter is cooling I let another 50g butter soften in a small bowl. Once the butter is soft stir in the curry butter and mix well until you have a even smooth paste. Than the mixture goes into the fridge to set.

For the soup I take a large pot. This recipe is for 6 portions so make sure the pot is big enough. I always cook a bit extra and deep freeze the additional soup in portions.

My favourite mixture is 750g pumpkin and 500g carrots peeled and cut into pieces. Cut the carrots into smaller pieces than the pumpkin as they take longer to cook. 1 large onion, about 50g, cut into pieces and 2 gloves of garlic. Put it all in the pot. Add 1,5 - 2 litres of vegetable stock. The vegetables should be covered by about 1cm water. Bring to a boil and cook until the vegetables are soft. If necessary add a bit more vegetable stock. Once the vegetables are soft take the pot of the heat and let it cool down a bit.

Now comes the messy fun part of it. Pour the vegetables with the liquid into a blender and blend until you have a uniform purée. Now pour the soup back into the pot. If you don't have a blender / kitchen machine you can either use a hand blender or mash the vegetables with a potato masher or a fork.

Now I put the soup back on the stove. If the mixture is too thick I just add a bit more vegetable stock to liquefy it. At this stage the soup is rather bland. To bring out the flavours I add fresh ground pepper and salt to taste as well as a good pinch of nutmeg, all spice and cinnamon. Cook the soup over low heat for about 5 minutes so that the flavours can develop.

To serve I pour the hot soup into individual soup bowls. Than I place a teaspoon (about 7-10 g) of the chilled curry butter in the middle of each soup bowl. By the time the soup is on the table the butter is melted. Give the soup a nice stir before you eat it to combine the flavours.

Enjoy and have fun in the kitchen!

Love

Carola