I promised to blog my recipe for our Pumpkin, Carrot and Orange soup, so here we go. Soup might seem like a strange choice in a hot country, but actually a bowl of hot soup can be very refreshing. This one is so fresh and healthy because of the ingredients that it definitely perks you up for the rest of the day.

Pumpkin, Carrot and Orange Soup

Extra virgin olive oil

1 medium sized pumpkin or squash

3 carrots

2 oranges

One onion

2 cloves garlic

Grated fresh ginger

Vegetable stock

Pinch cumin, coriander and black pepper

First of all, in a heavy non-stick saucepan heat the olive oil and then add the onions and cook them over a low heat until almost translucent, then add the garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander and black pepper until all cooked and soaked up into the onions. Put the spiced onions to one side. Then peel, deseed and cube the pumpkin (you can keep and dry the seeds to use in salads and other recipes). Peel and slice the carrots, then put the pumpkin and carrot onto boil, either in home-mad vegetable stock or with a good quality stock cube. Boil until soft, about 15-20 minutes. Put into a blender along with the spiced onions, and freshly squeezed juice and pulp from two oranges. Blend until smooth, and add water to get the consistency you want, depending on whether you want a thick soup or not. Serve piping hot - if you can add a dash of sour cream and a sprig of fresh coriander to the bowl then even better! Enjoy.

I may also later blog our recipe for Sweet Potato, Coriander and Coconut soup, another favourite...