Pumpkin and coconut soup
Instructions:
- I’ve taken a classic Thai recipe and modernised it, reducing the preparation time dramatically.
- 500 g (1 lb) ripe pumpkin;
- 750 ml (24 fl oz/3 cups) water or chicken stock;
- 2 tablespoons Tom Yum Paste (page 175) or Reuben Solomon’s Singapore Laksa Paste;
- 1 x 400 ml (13 fl oz) can coconut milk;
- fish sauce or salt;
- lime juice to taste;
- a few small basil leaves.
- Peel and dice the pumpkin, discarding any seeds.
- Bring water or stock to the boil in a saucepan and stir in the paste. Add 100 ml (3½ fl oz) of the coconut milk and the diced pumpkin. Simmer until the pumpkin is tender.
- Stir in the rest of the coconut milk and mash some of the pumpkin to give thickness to the soup. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary, with a dash of fish sauce or salt, and a little lime juice. Ladle into bowls and scatter basil leaves over when serving.