Creamy pumpkin soup

Nutrition and Beauty | Katerina Kyriakou | Friday, January 29th, 2010 at 13:00

ermoumag ermou greenkampong Curried Pumpkin Soup Creamy pumpkin soup

A recipe by Alexandros Papandreou, published in “gastronomos” (issue 43, November 2009) Picture taken from www.greenkampong.com

INGREDIENTS (for 4 persons)

1 kg of cleaned and finely chopped pumpkin
1 large onion cut in six pieces
2 medium carrots
2 ½ cups of milk
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of fresh ginger or 1 tablespoon of ginger powder
1 teaspoon of curry
1 pinch of nutmeg
Salt, fresh grated black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Put extra virgin olive oil in a large saucepan and add onion, ginger, curry and nutmeg.

Saute for 2 minutes while stirring the mixture by a wooden spoon. Add pumpkin and carrots, stir and bring to boil for 2-3 minutes. Add milk and water until ingredients are covered. Reduce heat.

Simmer until pumpkin and carrots are very tender. Remove from heat and by working in patches puree soup in a blender, adding liquid from the casserole. Keep the remaining liquid.

Strain the pulp by using a fine strainer and put it in a casserole. If soup is too thick add some of the remaining liquid, stir and boil for a while.

Add salt and fresh grated black pepper

NUTRITIONAL COMMENT

Since the cold is endless, we keep on with our proposals for warm and nutritious soups which are light and tasteful choices for the winter nights. The predominant ingredient is the pumpkin, a sweet and popular vegetable abroad, commonly used by Greek chefs during the last years. It contains lots of vitamins: A, b carotene and C. Also, it is rich in potassium, calcium, phosphorus and fiber. The other strong ingredient of the proposed soup is ginger, rich in potassium, zinc and polyphenols and well known for its antioxidant and immune boosting properties. Carrots contain lots or b carotene which acts as an antioxidant and it is important for the proper functioning of the vision. The onion has strong antimicrobial properties.

This soup is probably the sweetest and yet light way to strengthen our immune system!

Bon appétit!

Don’t forget to email me at katerinakyriakou@hotmail.com for any questions!