I need winter warmers
Peanut butter gives classic pumpkin soup extra body and flavour while poached tamarillos ensure a winter meal ends on a sweet note.
There’s little doubt that winter has well and truly arrived, and if venturing outdoors has little appeal then cosy up by the fire and warm up with these recipes.
The pumpkin and peanut butter soup breathes new life into an old classic. It is a delicious combination of sweet and salty, of smooth and crunchy and is perfect served with buttery sourdough toast.
The poached tamarillos are reminiscent of mulled wine and layered with creamy Greek yoghurt and coconut-cashew crumble they make a deliciously wintry dessert.
Pumpkin & peanut butter soup
Serves 6 Preparation: 15 minutes Cooking: 40 minutes
2 tablespoons olive oil 2 onions, quartered, finely sliced 5 cloves garlic, finely sliced 3cm piece ginger, finely grated 1.5kg pumpkin, seeds and skins removed, cut into 3cm cubes
1 x 400ml tin coconut cream FOOD
3 cups vegetable stock cup peanut butter
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan over a medium heat and fry the onions until they caramelise. This will take about 25-30 minutes. Once caramelised set aside.
In a heavy-bottomed pot heat the remaining olive oil and fry the garlic until fragrant. Add the ginger, pumpkin, coconut cream and the stock, bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft and cooked through.
Measure out the peanut butter and add some of the cooking liquid to thin it down so it is easier to stir back into the soup. Blend the soup using a stick blender then stir through the peanut butter and caramelised onions and season with sea salt before serving.
I serve this soup with sprouted mung beans, which add a deliciously fresh crunch to the soup. Coriander or flat leaf parsley would also work well.
Poached tamarillos
Serves 6 Preparation: 10 minutes Cooking: 30 minutes
50g spelt flour 50g cashew nuts 50g desiccated coconut 30g butter, softened, cubed 1 tablespoon maple syrup 1 tablespoon tahini (optional)
cup mascarpone 1 cups thick greek yoghurt 6 tamarillos 4 mandarins or 1 orange 1 cup red wine 1 cinnamon stick 6 cardamom pods, bruised
cup honey/brown sugar
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Put the flour, cashews and coconut into a food processor and process until it resembles a coarse flour. Add the butter, maple syrup, tahini (if using), and a pinch of sea salt and process until it comes together.
Tip on to a baking tray, breaking up any large chunks, and bake for about 7 minutes until golden. Set aside. In a bowl, mix together the mascarpone and yoghurt and set aside.
Halve the tamarillos lengthways and cut through the flesh where it joins on to the stalk without cutting through the skin. Put into a large heavy-bottomed pot. Peel 4 strips of zest from the mandarins and put into the pot, along with the juice (you want about cup).
Add the wine, cinnamon, cardamom and honey, along with 1 cup of water. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for about 8 minutes or until the tamarillos are soft.
Remove the tamarillos from the liquid with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Continue to reduce the liquid until thick and syrupy. Serve the tamarillos in little dishes, two per dish, firstly spooning in some yoghurt followed by a tamarillo then some of the crumb mixture. Repeat again then drizzle with the wine syrup before serving.
Recipes, food styling and photography by Emma Boyd