Soups with kūmara
Perfect Pumpkin & KÅ«mara Soup
Ingredients
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic
5cm knob of ginger, grated
1 carrot
2 stalks of celery
1 orange capsicum
½ pumpkin
1 orange kūmara
2 chicken stock cubes
½ can coconut cream
½ tsp nutmeg
Garnish (optional)
4 tbsp Coconut cream (enough to swirl on top of each bowl)
Few sprigs of Coriander
4 tbsp Salami – diced (fried bacon would do the trick too). Leave out for vegetarians.​
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Method
Heat saucepan on medium add butter and oil. Add onions and cook 5 minutes, add garlic and ginger and combine. After a minute or so add carrot, celery and capsicum.
After about 3 minutes add pumpkin & kÅ«mara and sauté for 2 minutes. Add chicken stock and enough water to cover vegetables then bring to the boil.
Reduce heat to simmer and cook until pumpkin and kūmara soft. Remove from heat and using a stick blender blend.
Return to heat and add ½ can coconut cream and season with some salt to taste. Grate over the nutmeg, remove from the heat and blend one more time.
Serve in bowls. For a little extra magic, add a swirl of coconut cream, a few green leaves of coriander, and lastly a sprinkle of diced salami or bacon.
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Serves 6. Recipe created by Brett McGregor.
Creamy Indian Spiced KÅ«mara Soup
Ingredients
1kg orange kūmara
2 tablespoons, peanut oil
1 medium-sized onion, peeled and chopped finely
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon root ginger, minced
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 litre orange juice, filtered
2 large tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
300ml cream
Salt to taste
Greek yoghurt, chives and paprika to garnish.
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Method
Heat the oil in a large pot. Sweat the onion, garlic, ginger and spices on a gentle heat for about 15 minutes. Stir in the orange juice and tomatoes and bring to a simmer.
Meanwhile, peel the kūmara and wash it well. Dice the kūmara roughly and add it to the soup.
Simmer for 30 minutes until the kūmara is soft, topping up with water if there is not enough liquid to cover the kūmara. Set aside to cool.
Blend the soup with the cream in a food processor and season with salt. Pass through a fine mesh sieve. Heat and serve topped with greek yoghurt, chives and paprika.
Serves 6.
Watercress & KÅ«mara Soup
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion diced
2 cloves garlic roughly chopped
500 g kūmara peeled and cut into 1.5cm dice
1 l chicken stock
350 g watercress chopped, plus extra whole watercress to garnish
¼ cup crème fraîche to serve
Edible flowers to garnish (optional)​
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Method
Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. Cook onions with a pinch of salt for 2-3 minutes until starting to soften. Add garlic and kūmara and cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly.
Add stock and bring to simmer. Cook until kūmara is soft (about 10 minutes).
While vegetables and stock are simmering, blanch the watercress (this will help to retain its vibrant green colour). To do this, fill a large bowl with a tray or two of ice cubes and top with cold water. Place watercress in a heatproof bowl or pot and pour over a kettle of boiling water. Leave to sit for 1 minute then drain well and immediately place in the icy cold water. When cooled completely, drain the watercress and add to the pot of kūmara. Turn off the heat.
Use a blender or stick blender to blend the soup until completely smooth. Season to taste with more salt (if needed) and a little freshly ground black pepper. Scoop out about ¼ cup soup and mix with crème fraîche to loosen.
To serve, ladle soup into bowls and drizzle with crème fraîche mixture. Garnish with some more fresh watercress and edible flowers if you like.
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Serves 6. Recipe by Nadia Lim.
Curried KÅ«mara Soup
Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped roughly
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp grated ginger
2 Tbsp mild curry powder
500g goldkūmara, peeled and cut into chunks
1 litre chicken stock
250ml coconut milk
½ cup Greek yoghurt
1 Tbsp chopped chives
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Method
Into a large pot place the oil and warm through. Add the onion, garlic and ginger cooking for 3 or 4 minutes to soften slightly. Stir through the curry powder until fragrant.
Add the kumara and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer for 25 minutes or until the kumara is completely soft. Stir through the coconut milk for the last few minutes.
Blend until smooth. Reheat before serving with a dollop of yoghurt and fresh chives.
Serves 4-6. Recipe via NZ Herald.