Sweet and Sour Pumpkin Soup

with smoked aubergine relish

Recipe by Dorota Krysinska

You’ll need

• 1 medium hokkaido pumpkin
• 2 aubergines
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 2 onions, yellow or red
• 3–5 tomatoes, depending on size
• A handful of raisins (optional)
• 1l stock or water
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp date molasses, maple syrup, etc
• Salt & pepper to taste

Here’s how to do it:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Cut the pumpkin in half (no need to peel) and place cut side down on a baking tray. Place the aubergine (skin and everything on, don’t cut it open) next to the pumpkins. Roast for 30 minutes, until the pumpkins are soft and the skin begins to come off the flesh.
2. Remove the pumpkins from the oven and set the temperature to 220 degrees Celsius with the broiler/grill on. Move the aubergines closer to the top of the oven to char them. You don’t need to watch them very closely, the skin has to burn, with blisters on top. Turn it several times, though. Once ready, remove from the oven, place in a bowl and cover with a plate to steam.
3. Slice the onions, chop the tomatoes into rough chunks. Remove the seeds from the pumpkin and spoon out the soft flesh from the skin.
4. Heat up the 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a soup pot. Add the rosemary sprig and the onion and cook it until it turns quite brown — about 15 minutes. It will add a sweet, deep flavour that just-soft onions don’t have yet, so be patient. Next, add the tomatoes and the pumpkin, as well as the raisins if using, then the water, and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and keep cooking for 10 minutes, until the tomatoes begin to fall apart.
5. While the soup cooks, get back to the aubergines. Slice them open and remove the flesh with a spoon into a bowl, smash with a fork, and add the lemon juice and date molasses or your sweetener of choice. Season with plenty of salt and pepper. Taste to see if you’d like it more sweet or more sour, adding more of the appropriate ingredients to your liking.
6. Now, transfer the soup to a blender (though the soup will taste great even if you don’t have one). Blitz until smooth, season with salt and pepper.
7. Serve the soup with two tablespoons of relish per bowl. Both elements will keep for 4 days in the fridge.
8. Enjoy!