MILES' SPICED PUMPKIN AND SORREL SOUP

Sarah has the day off for Hallmark's celebration of motherhood. So I'm at the Mac helm.
We spent a loverly day gardening, brunching with a friend, singing to Billie and finally chopping up a big ol' pumpkin to make a super soup.

 I did create this delish dish last week in my slapdash funnel of random ingredients way. Why make the same meal twice?

Sarah believes that if you, the reader, would like to share our yummy goodness you will need measurements. I had to agree. So tonight we did a re-creation of last week's soup; turning "oh a few spoonfuls" and "I think I just poured for like 5 seconds" into real figures.

The result is a very similar soup to my inspired melee a week before. It tastes better than desert, is mildly spicy and goes well with a nice slice of jalepeno bread from Bondi Junction markets.

This recipe should make enough for 3 and lunch the next day. Billie who is becoming somewhat finicky as she matures or just unpredictable ( devouring a particular meal one day and shunning it the next), vacuums this powerful blend of veggies into her mini-maw.

MILES' SPICED PUMPKIN AND SORREL SOUP

1/4 pumpkin, chopped into chunks (leave skin on)

olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

2 onions, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 stock cube, dissolved in 1 and 1/4 cups boiling water

1 tablespoon tamari (or soy sauce)

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t ground ginger

1 t ground cumin

6-8 sorrel leaves

4 stalks fresh coriander (use roots, stalks and leaves)

Heat butter and a little olive oil in a large pot on low to medium heat. Saute onion, garlic and celery until soft. Add pumpkin, sorrel and then stock. Bring to simmer and then lower heat, replacing lid. Combine spices and olive oil in small bowl to make a paste, then stir through soup with the coconut. Add chopped coriander - using the roots and all adds lots of flavour. Stir frequently, and once the pumpkin is very soft remove soup from heat. Use a stick blender to puree in pot, or transfer to blender/food processor. Reheat if necessary and enjoy.

While we have added a dollop of yoghurt for aesthetic purposes, it really isn't necessary for taste. In  fact, I would say go without. And this is a soup you can safely serve without bread. It's delicious.