Never mind that winter is coming; it’s well and truly here in Melbourne right now. Getting up for the gym is a genuine battle: to peel myself away from the flannelette cocoon of winter sheets and pyjamas and dive into icy gym gear while it’s still dark outside. This time of year, I’m usually about to jet off somewhere warm for a few weeks so I don’t mind but I’ve taken a travel hiatus this year – no mean feat for the wandering and endlessly curious soul I know myself to be.
This year I’m concentrating on building my freelance writing business, saving some cash and knocking off my educational debts for a clean start to the year in 2017. It’s no mean feat for a travel junkie such as moi, but I’m slaying my FOMO so far, getting ahead and looking forward to some hard-earned adventures next year.
So, in the meantime, I travel internationally via my kitchen and this year so far I’ve been to Morocco, India, Thailand, Greece and Israel – not bad and at a fraction of the usual cost! This spicy soup is a spin on my own recipe for a Thai fish curry except for the addition of coconut milk. While there’s an initial spicy hit, depending on the type of chilli you use, the soup mellows out nicely for a second hit the next day. Perfect for those chilli winter days when you wish you were somewhere warm and exotic.
Where will your next dish take you? Happy travels xo
Red Thai Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 kg butternut pumpkin
500g sweet potato
2 tsp sliced lemongrass
3 cloves crushed garlic
½ cup fresh coriander
2 tsp red curry paste
1 birds eye chilli
400g can coconut milk
½ fresh lime juiced
2 spring onions sliced
2 kaffir lime leaves
Method
1. Chop pumpkin and sweet potato then boil for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Set aside.
2. Add lemongrass, garlic, coriander, red curry paste, chilli and lime leaves to a blender then pulse until a chunky paste is made. Add to a pan and stir-fry until fragrant.
3. Add paste and coconut milk to the pumpkin and sweet potato then blend with a stick mixer
4. Top with fresh coriander, chill, lemongrass and squeeze of lime.
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