Spicy Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 kg fresh pumpkin (chopped away from the skin, and cut into small pieces)
• 450 g floury potatoes (peeled and chopped into small pieces)
• 2 cm piece fresh ginger (peeled and very finely chopped)
• 1-2 thai bird's eye chilies, 2 makes it very hot, use only 1 if you want something more mild (de-seeded and very finely chopped)
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 liter vegetable broth
• salt and pepper
• 100 g creme fraiche
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1-2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds

Directions

1. 1

   Melt butter in a large pot on medium heat and add onions and garlic until onion is clarified.

2. 2

   Add pumpkin, potatoes, ginger, and chilis, stir and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. 3

   Add coriander and turmeric and stir and cook about 30 seconds.

4. 4

   Add vegetable broth, a couple dashes of salt and pepper and bring to a boil and cook on high heat for 15 minutes.

5. 5

   Remove about 100 ml (a bit more than a 1/3 of a cup) of the veggies and set aside.

6. 6

   Remove the remaining soup from the heat and puree it with a hand blender.

7. 7

   Add creme fraiche, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

8. 8

   Return the non-pureed veggies, stir and serve topped with the roasted pumpkin seeds and green onions.