Exotic Pumpkin Soup

I made this delicious exotic pumpkin soup because I just love pumpkin at this time of year, and you can't go wrong with some homemade soup on a cold autumn or winter night.

What you need:

1 pumpkin (Hokkaido/sugar pumpkin)
2 onions
1 stalk of lemongrass
6 Kaffir Lime leaves
1-2 hot chili peppers
1 garlic
1-2 tablespoons powdered vegetable stock
juice from 3 oranges (or from concentrate)
fresh ginger
180 ml sour cream or crème fraiche
herbs of your choice (chives or cilantro)

1. Cut pumpkin in half and remove seeds. Place on baking sheet and bake for 30-40 mins at 165 C or 325 F.

2. Meanwhile dice onions, chop lemongrass and chilis. In a large pot, add some cooking oil and brown onions, then sauté the chili, lemongrass and minced garlic.

3. Remove the peel from the pumpkin with a paring knife then add into chunks to the pot. Add 2-3 cups of water and vegetable stock, drop in kaffir lime leaves and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes, remove kaffir lime leaves, then purée the soup with a hand mixer or blender. Add orange juice and blend again.

4. For the topping, grate some fresh ginger into a bowl, add sour cream and chopped up herbs. Serve the soup piping hot and add some of the sour cream topping.

Enjoy! Let me know if you try this recipe and if you like it.