It’s freezing cold; I needed a hot bowl of soup. I searched for creamy soup to go with cherry tomatoes that won’t last for another 3 days. I found my bulb of garlic starting to shoot some green stems, so I best use it before it goes to waste. I found a recipe from Donna Hay; she didn’t peel the skin. As usual, I love to change the ingredients and the method.

Google: “Butternut pumpkin, also known as butternut squash in many regions, is a type of winter squash with a distinctive pear shape, pale golden skin, and deep orange flesh. It has a sweet, nutty flavour and is highly versatile, enjoyed roasted, baked, boiled, or added to soups. The flesh has a sweet, nutty taste, often described as similar to a sweet potato, is dry and dense, making it suitable for roasting and other cooking methods. It’s a good source of fiber, vitamins, minerals, has lutein and zeaxanthin, often found in yellow fruits and vegetables as well as eggs. Along with beta-carotene and vitamin A, these protect your eyes from ultraviolet rays.”

“The cherry tomato is a kind fruit with certain health benefits, such as improving immunity, slowing down aging, lowering blood pressure, lowering cholesterol and preventing cancer [6,7]. The cherry tomato is a kind of indispensable fruit in people’s lives for its high nutritional and economic value. Cherry tomatoes are rich in antioxidants, which may help protect against cancer, heart disease, and skin damage. But you may want to avoid cherry tomatoes if you have acid reflux or certain allergies.”

Be courageous to tryout and certainly had paid off. I am glad my soup turned out comforting, healthy and delicious. Let’s keep warm and cook a hot pot of soup!!!

Ingredients

2 kg butternut pumpkin
(halved and seeds removed, one half pumpkin: skin peeled, diced)
2 onions, halved
1 bulb garlic
400 g cherry tomatoes, halved
2 ripened tomatoes halved or quartered
1/8 c basil leaves, roughly chopped
1 Tsp smoked paprika powder
1 Tsp oregano powder
70 ml olive oil, divided
4 c vegetables stock
1 1/2 c thickened cream or milk
2 Tsp dark brown sugar (OPT)
salt
black pepper

Garnish
basil leaves
roasted diced pumpkin

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C. Place both tomatoes on lightly greased baking tray, lined with non-stick baking paper. Drizzle 10 ml oil, season with salt and pepper. Then spreading them evenly over the baking tray; bake for 15-20 minutes or until tomatoes collapse slightly. Remove from oven to cool.

Next add pumpkin, basil leaves, onion, cut-side up, and the garlic on a lightly greased oven tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Drizzle with remaining oil, sprinkles smoked paprika, and oregano powder. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat evenly and then spread all the vegetables out evenly. Cook for 1 hour–1 hour 10 minutes or until onion is caramelised and pumpkin is soft. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

Scoop out the flesh of the pumpkin into a large pot. Remove the onion and garlic from their skins and add to the pot. Reserved about some pumpkin for garnish later. Add the stock, dark brown sugar, and thickened cream or milk. Gives a couple of stirs. Now using a hand-held stick blender, blend the soup until smooth. Place the soup over medium heat and heated to hot about 10-15 minutes. Check the season before serving. Spoon soup onto bowl and garnish with about 5 diced pumpkin and 3 leaves in the middle of soup. Enjoy with bread or pane de casa!!!

https://helenscchin.com/2019/05/18/roasted-pumpkin-cherry-tomatoes-soup-with-pumpkin-and-basil/

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