Ingredients

• Coconut oil or ghee
• 1 onion
• 2 ribs of celery
• 2 small or 1 large carrots
• 1 red pepper
• 1 Scotch bonnet pepper
• Hunk of ginger
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 1 Potato
• 1 Yam
• 1 Sweet potato
• Half a pie pumpkin
• Curry powder
• Salt and pepper
• Several sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• Pinch of fresh ground nutmeg
• 6 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 can coconut milk
• Worcestershire sauce
• Fresh parsley
• Fresh cilantro
• Lime juice

Instructions

• Heat a large heavy skillet on medium heat, and add oil or ghee. Dice onion, celery, carrot and red pepper and start to sweat them in the oil.
• Mince a hunk of ginger and add it, then mince a scotch bonnet pepper (remove the seeds if you want less heat) and add it. Then mince the garlic and add it.
• Add curry powder, salt and pepper, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and nutmeg and stir to coat the aromatics.
• Peel and dice the potato, yam, sweet potato and pumpkin and add them to the pan.
• Add the vegetable stock and sprigs of fresh thyme and stir to mix everything together. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a low simmer.
• Summer, stirring regularly, until the root vegetables are soft.
• Pick out the bay leaves, cinnamon stick and thyme stems.
• Using an immersion blender, buzz the soup so that it is partly puréed but still lumpy and vegetably.
• Add a can of coconut milk and stir to combine, then simmer on very low heat for another ten minutes or so.
• Stir in Worcestershire sauce, lime juice and fresh parsley and cilantro and let it simmer for a few more minutes. Note: I say “a few more minutes” here, but in my experience, as it simmers for longer, the flavour just gets better and better.
• Serve and enjoy!

Caribbean Pumpkin Soup