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Recipe: Roasted pumpkin and sweet potato soup
This roasted pumpkin and sweet potato soup is an easy meal packed with Southeast Asian flavours. If you roast the vegetables in advance, you can put it together in no time on a busy weekday. Both pumpkin and sweet potato are a good source of beta-carotene (a precursor of vitamin A) and also contain potassium, dietary fibre, among other micronutrients. This soup is gluten-free and dairy-free. It can be made vegetarian/vegan by substituting the fish sauce for salt or soy sauce. As always, make sure you are adding some protein to make it a more satisfying meal.
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Recipe: Roast pumpkin and lentil salad with lemon and sumac labneh
Roast pumpkin and lentil salad with lemon and sumac labneh is a healthy and filling vegetarian meal to have for lunch or dinner. It can also be served as part of a shared meal. What is labneh? It is a Middle Eastern strained yoghurt that is often used in savoury applications, e.g. as a dip. Its consistency is in between Greek yoghurt and cream cheese. This recipe is gluten-free and vegetarian. It can be made vegan by omitting the eggs and using plant-based yoghurt or cheese instead of the labneh. This salad is high in fibre and has a decent amount of protein, both of which will keep you satisfied…
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Recipe: Spiced roasted pumpkin and zucchini soup
Pumpkin is one of my favourite ingredients for soup because it’s versatile, cheap and easy to work with. This spiced roasted pumpkin and zucchini soup is a perfect example of a simple and economical dinner you can make on a weeknight. This soup is naturally gluten-free and can be made vegan if you use dairy-free yoghurt and vegetable stock. Add a source of protein (e.g. boiled eggs, lentils or chickpeas) to round off the meal.
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Recipe: Pumpkin, ginger & lemongrass soup
I love soup and pumpkin soup has been among my favourites forever. Pumpkin is rich in beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A. Its sweetness, accentuated by roasting it instead of just boiling it, pairs well with the zing of ginger, lemongrass and lime juice. This recipe is gluten-free and can be made vegan/vegetarian by using vegetable broth and omitting the fish sauce. It’s low in fat (if you don’t add the optional coconut milk) and protein. You can add some cooked chicken or boiled eggs to bump up the protein content.
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Recipe: Locro (Peruvian pumpkin stew)
I’m sure there are a million locro recipes out there because it’s fair to say this is an everyday staple in almost every Peruvian household. The way I make it is not the way my mum makes it, nor the way my aunties make it, nor the way my mother-in-law makes it. This is one of the few dishes Alvaro insists on keeping meat-free, with a fried egg (or three) on top. Works for me.
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Recipe: Fragrant roasted chicken with cinnamon pumpkin and broccolini
I’ve been using this awesome recipe for roasting chicken for the past few months. It’s simple and fool-proof, and it gives you the flexibility of using any spices you want. I often use a mix of rosemary and sage salts or a mix of rosemary and lemon salts. This time I used a mix of Moroccan spices and paired it up with cinnamon-y pumpkin and broccolini. Delicious!
