Easy end of winter workday soup

As the last few weeks of winter and early spring come to an end, I like to hold on to the cooler season and keep making soup just a little longer. This recipe is easy enough to put on the stove in the late morning and eat for lunch if you’re working at home.

Soup is so versatile, and can carry whatever you have lying around the kitchen at any particular moment. For this recipe you need just a few vegetables and plenty of seasoning to make something simple yet satisfying. You can substitute sweet potato for the pumpkin here, or add some regular potatoes and zucchini if you’ve got them. 

Cooking time: 1 hour 

Serves 3

Ingredients: 

700g of pumpkin 

2 large tablespoons of olive oil 

2 carrots peeled 

1 large stalk of celery 

1 large onion chopped

2cm knob of fresh ginger 

3 spring onions (white ends chopped finely)

Pinch of turmeric

1.5 liters of water 

Sea salt 

Black pepper 

Pinch of cinnamon 

Coriander to serve 

Labneh to serve

Peel and cut up the pumpkin discarding the slimy part where the seeds are. Chop the onions and saute with oil in a large pot on low to medium heat, add ginger, pumpkin and other vegetables and keep sauteeing gently for five minutes.

Add the water, turmeric, cinnamon and plenty of salt and bring to boil. Simmer on medium heat for 45 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft. If you need to, you can add a bit more water. 

Take off the heat and add a tablespoon of pepper and more salt. Taste it to check the seasoning. You can also add some olive oil. Now using a hand or normal blender to blend the vegetables to your desired consistency. Serve the soup in bowls with some coriander, labneh and a drizzle of oil on top. 

Secrets to make this recipe work

Pumpkin: You want to get your hands on a very ripe bright looking pumpkin so the soup will have flavour. If you can't find one, I suggest using sweet potatoes instead, as these will also work well with the ginger and cinnamon. 

Serving soup: Soup is all about how it’s served. Sprinkle over olive oil and herbs, or some cheese, pesto, homemade croutons. These accompaniments can make all the difference. In this case, the combination of the labneh, a drizzle of good olive oil and the delicate punchiness of the coriander add a lot of flavor. 

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