Roasted Pumpkin Soup for the Soul! - A Winter Special

Brrrr.....winter is here again! This year we have had the quickest and shortest summer and the earliest winter. No complaints! I most definitely prefer pleasant weather than scorching heat after having moved to India from my favourite desert where I was born and raised! I hear that this year Dubai has been and will be experiencing rains and frost esp since the last week and into the next couple of weeks.

While Mother Nature waves her magic wand to bring in surprising changes to the weather, we do our best and help stay warm during these chilly nights. What better to have during these cold nights for a dinner than a nice hot bowl of soup! Pumpkin is one of those neglected veggies but in reality its health benefits are far too many to miss out on this delicious veggie. You can make both as sweet and savoury dishes with this humble vegetable. With Halloween come and gone, perhaps many may not want to hear of pumpkin. This soup however should not be missed! Not only is it an easy make it is packed fiber, vitamins and minerals that would help you build immunity to what the cold weather brings. Many nutrition research reviews have also claimed that the modest pumpkin has helped prevent several diseases including but not limited to heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, arthritis and even cancer!

This recipe was inspired by Donna Hay -from her TV series Fast, Fresh and Simple! I did not add the honey though and instead added cinnamon and garlic cloves for that extra punch! Also I topped the soup with croutons and glazed onions.

To make this delicious pumpkin soup,

You need:

• 1.5 kg pumpkin, cut lengthwise and seeds scooped out
• 2 cup veg/chicken stock
• 100 ml cream
• 1/2 tbsp natural honey (optional)
• Pinch of cinnamon
• 1 large white onion
• Rock salt, to sprinkle
• EVOO/Olive oil, to drizzle
• 4 cloves of garlic
• Pinch of salt and pepper

For the garnish:

• 2 slices of bread, chopped into cubes
• 1/2 onion, finely diced
• 1/2  tbsp Butter (optional)
• Sour cream (optional)

The Make
Serves 2-3 | Cooking Time: 20 minutes | Preparation Time: 60 minutes
Source: Donna Hay

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. On a baking tray, place the garlic cloves and onion in whole with skin on and the pumpkin with the cut side up.
3. Drizzle with a little EVOO and sprinkle some salt on top.
4. Bake the pumpkin for about an hour or until the pumpkin softens and starts to brown. Scoop the pumpkin out of the skin and into the blender. Pop out the flesh from the garlic and onion, discard the skins and transfer it to the blender.
5. Add half of the stock and blend until smooth.
6. Add the blended mixture to a saucepan and pour in the remaining stock, cinnamon, honey (optional), cream, pinch of salt and pepper and whisk carefully over medium-low heat and bring it up to a boil.
7. For the croutons you can either toss the bread  into the heated oven with a drizzle of EVOO or heat it on a saucepan with some butter.Also take about 1/4 tbsp of butter and glaze the onion.
8. Serve your healthy pumpkin soup hot with croutons and glazed onions or sour cream on top.

Baked French Toast with Pumpkin and Fenugreek leaves

In an attempt to maintain Breakfast as the most healthiest meal of the day, this dish was whipped up for breakfast this morning. Fenugreek as I have mentioned in many of my posts has several health benefits, some of which I have mentioned in the Health Tips blog section. You can use any fruit you like. Pumpkin is an excellent source of protein and it is important to load on more protein vs. carbs for breakfast. I used wholewheat brown bread. You can also substitute with multigrain bread. Alternatively, you can also top with walnuts, raisins or almonds. 

There is no rocket science to making French toast so I was thinking twice on whether I should post such a simple recipe. This was the first time I attempted to bake French Toast Vs.fry it on a pan with butter as base. I must admit it was not easy initially as I tried to place the dipped bread on tin foil with butter base but it stuck on and was not possible to flip over. I had to manually take it off the foil and/or flip over with the foil on. I then remembered of a similar situation I had with making bread in the oven. I placed the next batch straight on the baking tray that came with the oven and lightly dabbed some EVOO before placing it on the tray.

French Toast with Pumpkin and Fenugreek leaves

You need:

• 4 egg whites or 2 full eggs
• 6 slices of wholewheat brown bread or multigrain brown bread
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3-4 tbsp of wild honey *we got some on A's visit to Munnar
• Drizzle(s) of EVOO (Extravegine Olive oil)
• Powdered Cinnamon - 1" stick
• 1 sprig of Fenugreek leaves - diced finely
• 1 cup of ripened or half-ripened Pumpkin diced small
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (optional)

The make:

Cooking Time:15 minutes|Preparation Time: 10 minutes|Serves 2

1. Whisk the eggs whites until nice and fluffy in a bowl. Try and use a hand whisk with thin metal wires.

Whisked ingredients

 2. Add honey,milk, fenugreek leaves and powdered cinnamon. Beat well.
 3. Next add the diced pumpkin and whisk well.
 4. You can refrigerate this blend overnight or make a fresh just before baking.
 5.  Pour the contents into a wider bowl/deep bottomed  wide plate.

Contents poured into a wider bowl for dipping

6. Prepare the baking tray by brushing some EVOO on the surface.
7. Dip the bread one at a time and place it carefully on the baking tray. Take care not to over soak the bread and cause breaking.
8.  Do this for each of the bread slices. Do not crowd the baking tray. Make it in batches if required.
9. Heat the oven on high for 5 minutes and then lower the flame to medium.
10. Place the tray on the lower level. It takes about 4-5 minutes for the first batch on each side and about 2-3 minutes for the 2nd batch in each side.
11. Serve as it is or with an extra dash of powdered cinnamon or sugar-free powdered sugar or toasted walnuts or almonds or extra fruits like chopped strawberries or blue berries. You can also add grated cheese on top. Kids would love it with grated cheese. (For the melted effect, you could add the cheese 1/2 a minute before taking it out of the oven)

Ready to Eat!

This was what was for breakfast folks! Enjoy your healthy and savoury breakfast! Bon Appetit...