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Roast pumpkin and apple soup with zhoug and yogurt
The season of pumpkins coincides very happily with the apple harvest, and they go fabulously well together – especially with the addition of a teaspoon of fiery zhoug and a dollop of Greek yogurt. I was introduced to zhoug by one of my food heroes, Ottolenghi. On its own, it verges on being quite unpleasant, but its astringent burst of heat and spice gives an extraordinary counterpoint to the sweetness and comfort of the pumpkin and onion, especially if it is tempered by a dollop of Greek yogurt.
For the roast pumpkin:
- 1kg pumpkin, peeled
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper
For the onions
- 3 red onions
- 1 apple
- 1 teaspoon of honey
- ½ inch of grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
- Stock
- Salt and pepper
- 15g butter
For the zhoug
- A large handful of parsley and /or coriander
- 2 green chillies
- A pinch of ground cumin
- A smaller pinch of ground cloves and cardamom
- A pinch of salt
- One crushed clove of garlic
- 2 tablespoons / 30g olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water
For the pumpkin
- Cut it into smallish chunks;
- Put it in a bowl with the oil, honey, rosemary, salt and pepper, and mix well, making sure the pumpkin is well coated.
- Put on a baking tray and into a hot oven – 200º /fan 180º / gas mark 6 – for about 40 minutes, turning from time to time.
For the soup
- Finely slice the onions – lengthways rather than across the grain – and core and chop up the apple.
- Put them in a bowl, add the honey, rosemary, grated ginger, salt and pepper, and mix well.
- Melt the butter in a sauté pan, then add the onions and apples and cook slowly for 15 – 20 minutes with the lid on; then take it off and add the pumpkin.
- Turn the heat up a little. Cook for another 10 minutes to caramelise the onions a bit more.
- Add enough stock to cover it well – you can add more stock later – simmer for 10 minutes, and then liquidise.
For the zhoug
Blitz everything together in a food processor.
You only need a very little but it keeps well in the fridge
To serve: add a spoonful of zhoug and a dollop of yogurt, skyr, or goat curd
Diva notes.
Preparing pumpkin
Assuming the rugby team is fully occupied at Twickenham, take a large, very sharp knife. Sharpen the very sharp knife; do not try and cut a pumpkin in half with a blunt knife.
Find your sharpest, sturdiest peeler and tell it to get a grip.
Take a deep breath; it will be tough. If it all feels too much, bear in mind that the pumpkin will not only help you live to a hundred, but give you impressive muscles whilst saving you a fortune in gym membership.
Liquidising the soup
I always use a stick food processor for this: it does an excellent job, and avoids the big fat mess I am excellent at making when I transfer liquid from a saucepan to the food processor.
And talking of mess, I don’t add all the stock until I am actually going to use it: it is easier to liquidise – you don’t have to chase lumps of pumpkin around a watery saucepan, and the spatter-factor is greatly reduced – and it takes up much less room in the fridge or freezer.
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