Turmeric, Lime & Coconut Pumpkin Soup

I call this my anti-inflammatory, immune boosting, one pot wonder soup. Which not to boast but I think may be the best pumpkin soup I have ever had, sorry dad. Soup is the best winter food, which you can batch cook, divvy up into containers and freeze for those nights where you cbf. 

In this recipe I have really focused on combining the best ingredients which not only boost your immune system but also boost the benefits of the other ingredients present within the soup. When using turmeric it is important to always:

Firstly, include healthy saturated fats into the recipe/meal to absorb the active curcumin within the turmeric. For example, you should always partner whole root organic turmeric with grass-fed butter or coconut oil.

Secondly, you should always pair turmeric with black pepper as the piperine found within the pepper enhances the absorption and increases the bioavailability of the turmeric.

Therefore in this recipe I have combined the organic turmeric root with black pepper as well as coconut cream to seriously super charge the immune boosting and anti inflammatory benefits. As well as included prebiotic ingredients such as garlic and onion to feed your good large intestine gut bacteria and keep them healthy and strong. The chilli also playing an important role by maintaining a healthy mucus membrane which protects the body against foreign invaders. Chilli also contains capsaicin, a substance which acts as an anti inflammatory and assists in clearing congestion

Ingredients

• 2 butternut pumpkins 
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 can 450ml coconut cream
• 1 lime juiced
• 2cm knob of turmeric (ground 1tsp)
• 3cm knob of ginger (ground 2tsp)
• 1 chilli
• 1 tsp Himalayan salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
• Bunch of coriander (optional)

Method

1. Finely chop onion, garlic, chilli, ginger and turmeric.
2. Cut the skin off the pumpkins and dice into 3cm cubes.
3. Heat oil in sauce pan on a medium heat, fry up onion, garlic, chilli, spices, turmeric and ginger until soft and aromatic.
4. Add the diced pumpkin and fry for a couple of minutes.
5. Once fried add broth and bring to the boil with the lid on the pot.
6. Once boiled bring down to a simmer for 15-20 minutes, when the pumpkin is soft, turn off the heat and allow it to cool before blending.
7. Blend up the pumpkin soup by scooping out the pumpkin and other ingredients into the blending using as little broth as possible otherwise it will make your soup have a very runny consistency. If you like thick soup try to keep most of the liquid out of the blender.
8. Mix through the coconut cream and lime juice once the pumpkin soup has been blended.
9. You can also portion up the soup to freeze and eat at a later date, it will keep for at least 6 months in air tight containers.
10. If eating straight away add cut up coriander as well as extra salt and pepper.