Thai Pumpkin Soup w/ Coriander Pesto

On such a cold Winters day here in Sydney, we decided to get into the O&O kitchen and get cooking! This soup will warm your body to it's inner core with her a spicy mix of Thai influences... The kick of red curry paste, the tartness of coriander pesto and the added punch of red chillies.
Oh-so soul warming, this soup will really put a pep in your step! So delish!

What will you need?
Large, thick bunch of coriander + stems, chopped.
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp grated ginger (we use the zester for this)
1 tbs Thai red curry paste
1.2kg pumpkin, peeled, cut into small cubes
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cups vegetable stock
400ml canned coconut milk
Thinly sliced red onion and thinly sliced red chilli, for garnish

What to do...
First, we are going to create the coriander pesto. To do this process coriander, lemon zest, lemon juice and garlic cloves in a food processor. Slowly add 3 tablespoons of the oil to thicken until it becomes consistency of a sauce.

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add diced onions and stir for 1 minute. Add ginger and red curry paste and stir for another minute. Add pumpkin and vegetable stock, bring to boil, then simmer over low heat for 20 minutes until pumpkin is cooked. Let the soup cool for about 10 minutes, then blend until smooth. Return blended soup to the pot, add the coconut milk and season, then warm through.

When serving, place soup in bowls and swirl in a spoonful of pesto. Garnish with the onion, chilli and reserved coriander leaves. Mm,mmm!

Tips:
After zesting, halve the lemon, place in a mug and pop into the microwave for 30 seconds to get all juice out! - Be careful, the lemon will be extremely hot.

Enjoy.
- O&O