roasted pumpkin mulligatawny

It seems that the whole world and his wife have been struck down by the sniffles. Everyone I talk to sounds a bit bunged up, slightly red around the eyes and just a little bit blue. After working our way through some pretty vile cold powders, mugs of hot honey, lemon and ginger and inhaling endless bowls of steaming Vicks; it was this comforting soup,  that finally put paid to monsieur lurgy. Sweet, spicy and ambrosial on the throat, this makes an immense tureen. Perfect for squirreling away freezer-friendly stashes ready for the next onslaught.

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

850g pumpkin, hacked into chunks

270g parsnip, peeled and chopped into chunks

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp. curry powder

1 tsp. cumin seeds

2 tbsp. olive oil

35g butter

1 tsp. salt

1 large onion, finely chopped

75g ginger, peeled and finely chopped

150g brown basmati rice

145g/2 medium carrots, diced

110g celery sticks, diced

250g eating apples

4 green cardamom pods

1 tsp. turmeric

500ml chicken stock

400ml coconut milk

400g tinned tomatoes

2 tbsp. mango chutney

2 tbsp. fresh coriander

A big squeeze of lemon juice

black pepper

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180C. In a shallow roasting tray toss the pumpkin and parsnip chunks with the garlic, curry powder, cumin, salt and half the olive oil. Roast for about 45 minutes, or until tender and charred in places.
• In a large saucepan heat the butter and remaining oil. Fry the onion and ginger for about 10 minutes over a low heat. Add the rice, carrots, celery, apple, cardamom and turmeric and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes or until everything is well cooked.
• Mash in the roasted pumpkin and parsnip along with the tempered oil from the roasting pan.
• Pour in the stock, coconut milk, tinned tomatoes and adjust seasoning to taste. Simmer until the rice is tender.
• Stir in the chutney and lemon juice. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle with the fresh coriander and lots of black pepper.

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