Pumpkin soup

House full of pumpkins this evening? As mentioned in our Brain Food tip today, pumpkins are incredibly good for you – so here's a recipe from the Detox Kitchen to inspire you this Halloween.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 small pumpkin- peeled, halved, and deseeded

4 tbsp rapeseed oil

4 shallots, thinly sliced

4 tbps curry paste (below)

3 tbsp honey

1½ tsp sea salt

Zest and juice of 1 lime

800ml coconut milk

400ml vegetable stock

A handful of fresh mint leaves

Coconut yogurt

Almonds

For the curry paste:

3 fresh red chillies, deseeded

2 tsp chilli flakes

4 shallots, roughly chopped

5 garlic cloves, peeled

3 lemongrass stalks, chopped

3cm piece fresh ginger

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tbsp tamari soy sauce

Method:

1. Make the curry paste – put all the ingredients in a food processor with a little oil and water. Blitz until it becomes a smooth paste.

2. Preheat the oven at 190°C. Cut the pumpkin or squash halves into chunky pieces, drizzle with rapeseed oil, season with salt and roast in the oven for 20minutes or until cooked through.

3. Heat a large pot with a little rapeseed oil, fry the shallots and lower the heat until they are caramelized or translucent. Then add 4 tbsp of the curry paste and cook for 5 minutes. Add the honey, salt, lime zest and juice. Cook until everything sizzles.

4. Add the coconut milk, vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Check for seasoning. Add the pumpkin/squash and spinach and stir until the spinach has wilted.

5. Take the soup of the heat and blitz with a handful of fresh mint using either a stick blender of a jug blender. Once all the soup is blended, check for seasoning and serve hot.

6. Add a dollop of coconut yogurt and a sprinkling of almonds for an extra crunch!