July 1, 2009: Pumpkin, carrot and cumin soup

After skipping ahead to Quinn's magnificent Mapo Tofu before the competition even closed, Cindy insisted we start doing things properly - beginning with our competition winner, Jo, and her roasted cumin pumpkin soup. I expected every entry of our competition to be soup of some form, and I was particularly looking forward to soups that would help me master my developing stick-blender technique. Aside from the stick-blending, this was all pretty simple - some roasting, a bit of simmering and you're done. The end product was pretty impressive - rich and warming, with the cumin giving the soup a bit of an edge beyond just the sweet pumpkin and carrot.

We fiddled around with the recipe a tiny bit, as Jo suggested, adding carrot to the base of pumpkin but otherwise leaving things as she suggested.


Roasted cumin and pumpkin soup

1.5kg pumpkin, peeled and sliced
3 carrots, sliced longways
2 small onions, diced
A couple of tablespoons of ground cumin
2-3 cups of vegie stock
2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Lay the pumpkin and carrot out on a tray, drizzle with the half of the olive oil and sprinkle with the cumin.

Roast the pumpkin and carrot for about 20 minutes, turn everything and give it another twenty minutes.

When the pumpkin has about 10 minutes left, heat the rest of the oil in a big pot and saute the onion until it's time to take the vegies out - they should be nice and soft.

Add the vegie stock and then smush in the roast vegies and their pan juices. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring regularly and then blend everything together with your stick blender into a smooth paste.

Simmer for another few minutes, adding water if you need to alter your soup's consistency. Serve with some delicious bread and enjoy the winter warmth.