Since coming back from our tropical holiday in Thailand, all I’ve felt like eating is warm nourishing food! It’s not even officially winter yet but I think the sudden change in temperature has made it seem that way.

For the last two of weeks I’ve been making lots of colourful soups with all the autumn vegetables in season. Their unofficial names have been “green soup”, “orange soup” and “purple soup”, and you can no doubt guess which vegetables contributed to these colours.

A big bowl of steaming soup is deliciously filling while you’re eating it, but I find there isn’t quite enough protein to keep me going until the next meal time. So I’ve also been trying out the idea of “toppings” which is something the amazing Green Kitchen Stories love to do. It’s a brilliant idea as a topping can turn a simple bowl of soup into something a lot more exciting, and make it a complete and filling meal.

So without further ado, here’s my recipe for “orange soup” aka carrot, pumpkin and turmeric soup with a spicy black bean topping. The soup is very easy to make. Simply simmer pumpkin, carrots, garlic, ginger and turmeric in a large pan of water until soft, then blend until smooth. This soup is naturally thick and full of flavour, so you don’t need any extra ingredients such a butter or flour. It also packs a massive nutritional punch while having a very low GI index. The carrot and pumpkin are full of vitamins, minerals and fibre, while the ginger, turmeric and garlic add a lovely flavour and provide some amazing anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and health promoting properties.

The spicy black bean topping provides a great contrast to the soup. It adds texture, crunch, protein and a little spice. If you don’t like too much spice simply leave it out. The topping is also very quick and easy to make. Simply cook crushed garlic and a chopped fresh red chilli in a pan, add pumpkin seeds and spices and cook until the seeds start to pop. Add the black beans and stir until they are just heated through.

This carrot and pumpkin soup with black bean topping makes a great lunch or dinner, and any leftovers keep well in the fridge for a week. Simply heat them through and serve. Enjoy!

Carrot, Pumpkin and Turmeric Soup

Makes: 4 bowls
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes

1 kg pumpkin, skin removed, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large piece of fresh ginger (approx 8cm), chopped
1 knob of fresh turmeric or 2 tsp ground turmeric
4 cups of water
salt and pepper to season

Place the chopped pumpkin, carrot, garlic, ginger, turmeric and water in a large saucepan and bring to the boil.
Turn the heat down and simmer approximately 20-30 minutes until the carrots and pumpkin can be cut easily with a butter knife.
Turn off the heat and leave to cool. When cool enough to handle, blend using either a stick blender, food processor or high speed blender until smooth.

Spicy Black Bean Topping

Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes

2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp mixed herbs
pinch cayenne pepper
1 x 400g can of black beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to season

coconut oil for cooking

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a fry pan and add the garlic and chilli. Cook until the garlic starts to brown, then add the pumpkin seeds and spices. Continue cooking on medium heat until the pumpkin seeds start to pop (approximately 5 minutes), then add the drained black beans and stir gently until they are heated through. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, ladle warm soup into a bowl and top with a few generous spoonfuls of black bean topping. Both the soup and the topping will keep for a week in separate sealed containers in the fridge. The soup can be frozen for up to 2 months.

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