Hello lovelies,
from the end of August pumpkin soup lands on our table almost every week, and at some point you want it a little differently. This pumpkin mango soup with tempeh crumble is my answer: a ripe mango cooks along with the pumpkin and gets blended in, plus coconut milk, ginger, smoked paprika and a good squeeze of lime at the end. The result is creamy, fruity and a little exotic, without tasting like dessert.
The base is the same as in every good pumpkin soup: onion, garlic and fresh ginger are softened in coconut oil, then the pumpkin pieces go in and fry along for 5 minutes before the liquid is allowed into the pot. If you are after the pure version, with no fruit and no topping, you will find it in my classic creamy pumpkin soup with ginger, which has been our standard for years.
With the mango the soup changes noticeably. It becomes rounder and sweeter, and that is exactly why it needs the juice of a whole lime and a little chili at the end, otherwise it tips into the cloying. You may already know the same coconut milk base with a spoonful of curry from my sweet potato pumpkin soup with coconut milk, which I alternate with this one in autumn.
The tempeh crumble is the part that turns the soup into a proper meal. Tempeh is crumbled by hand, fried crisp in coconut oil and then glazed with soy sauce, a teaspoon of maple syrup and chili flakes. Salty, slightly sweet, crunchy, exactly the contrast a velvety soup needs. You may already know mango and tempeh together from my black rice salad with mango and tempeh, the combination works just as well cold as it does warm.
If you like fruit in your pumpkin soup but have no mango in the house, you can reach for a pear instead. My pumpkin soup with pears and Brussels sprouts is the homegrown sister of this recipe, with plant milk instead of coconut milk and a hint of curry.
I hope this soup brings a little variety into your pumpkin weeks. And if some tempeh is left over, it becomes a quick tempeh cashew stir-fry with crunchy veggies here the next evening.
