Not so much a recipe as a prescription. After the excesses of Christmas coupled with a bad stomach virus, it was time for a cleansing soup.
Like all the best soups it was made from whatever the fridge had available. Having said that, we had some beautiful stock made from the carcass of one of our home bred chickens, a cabbage given to us by one of Big Man´s family and the star of the show, a beautiful Green Striped Cushaw Squash grown by Big Man´s lovely cousin Raphael.
Now, I´m not usually so knowledgeable about Squash (or should that be Squashes?) as I have even called it a pumpkin in the recipe title. It just so happened that Claire over at Promenade Plantings posted a gorgeous Winter Panzanella Salad recipe recently, and there showing off in a fabulous photo was MY pumpkin. Or squash.
I used about 400g of chopped squash, 2 medium potatoes peeled and cubed, 3 large carrots peeled and diced, an onion peeled and sliced, half a red pepper cut into chunks, 2 cloves of garlic peeled and thinly sliced and four large savoy cabbage leaves which I shredded finely. Along with the broth I also added a cup of tomato conserva. For a vegetarian version, use water or vegetable stock.
I sautéed the squash, carrots, pepper, onions and garlic for a few minutes in a little olive oil then seasoned with salt and pepper and poured stock and tomato over to cover. I bought it all to the boil and then reduced the heat to a simmer. After about 10 minutes I added the potatoes and when the vegetables were all tender, I added the cabbage which I only cooked for a few minutes.
Instead of cheese or croutons, we served it with freshly squeezed lemon juice which gave it all a lovely lift. Filling but comforting. Perfect for a post Christmas detox. With a glass of wine of course!
For another gorgeous pumpkin soup recipe, check out Raymund at Ang Sarap who inspired me with his Chunky Beef and Pumpkin Soup.
Chica Andaluza 
I did something similar with chicken and vegetable – see my blog
Soups are just what we need at this time of year!
Sounds like my kind of health food 😉
I think we´re all craving and making soups right now 🙂
Looks wonderful. Hope things are calmer.
As calm as they´ll ever get! Thanks Greg 🙂
YUM! and miserably i am almost out of my tomat conserva, I am going to do double next season.. it goes in everything!!! Oh and (had to tell you) I am making a smoothie tonight with the last of my boozy fruit and icecream!! WooHoo. Goes without saying that i am not going to be blogging that little piece of drunken info!! c
Funnily enough – we seem to be racing through the jars of tomato too. Not much left for me either and I made much more than last year. Enjoy the boozy fruit smoothie … or is that a boothie?!
That looks just the right antidote to festive excess….with the glass of wine, of course, for added health benefits!
Well, it´s made from grapes, and grapes are fruit and packed with vitamins!
So glad to hear that you’re all feeling better, Tanya, and what a great looking bowl of soup! Just what the doctor ordered. (And if he didn’t, I’m glad somebody did.) It’s a wonderful mix of ingredients and I especially love the addition of cabbage. It’s amazing what can result from a rummage through the fridge. 🙂
Thank you so much – soup is good for pretty much everything and it really does make you feel better when it´s packed full of veggies!
I imagine this soup would have anyone feeling just marvelous and refreshed immediately! What great ingredients and they are jam-packed with nutrients that are so good for the body… and the soul… It’s nice to see a pumpkin soup that isn’t pureed:)
Yes, I fancied a soup that made me feel like I had “eaten” rather than just “slurped” – it hit the spot!
Looks beautiful, delicious, and marvelously curative. May all be well with both your household and your overtaxed health!
Ah, thank you so much. I think things are now back on an even keel in our household. I suspect the soup helped!
Mmmm, this sort of reminds me of my grandmother’s vegetable soup (one I’ve wanted to post up since last winter when she was down here!)
Delicious!
Get posting Fati – soups made by our grandmothers are the best!
Tanya, I’m doing alot of holiday detoxing too!! And this looks perfect! Especially with the pumpkin as you know how much I like pumpkin! I like to make a pot of soup that will take me thru the week for lunches. Nice and comforting. Glad to hear you’re feeling better
Oh me too – Big Man always says I should have worked in Army Catering as I make enough to feed a battalion! Will be checking out some of your pumpkin recipes as we still have a lot of the monster left to eat 🙂
Wow I am flattered that I inspired you, that version looks good!
You´re welcome – yours was fabulous!
That looks wonderful, cleansing or not.
Thank you – I think sometimes your body just tells you to eat something sensible…in the same way it sometimes tells you to eat chocolate or drink wine!
This looks really tasty!
¡Muchas Gracias!
I’m so with you on the detoxing after Christmas! The soup looks perfect. I just read your comment too on my blog about you getting fresh goats milk, I’m so jealous!
Thanks Pease Pudding – we´ve been talking about cheese making all day thanks to you!
Hi T, That looks good. Great for these cold nights.
Regards Florence x
Tummy warming soup!
This is just fabulous – gorgeous flavours Tanya! I do hope everybody is on the mend now.
🙂 Mandy
All back to normal now Mandy – thanks!
Oh I love a scrumptious prescription, and this is that for sure!! Beautiful, lively, healthy! And I so believe in eating colors (and drinking a bit of them too of course) ! 🙂
Colours in food certainly do add a little something special!
Fantastic, and thanks for the link back 🙂
as to what is a pumpkin and what is a squash, I get VERY confused. In fact it’s the sort of question on who wants to be a millionnaire that you hope you have a squash expert on the other end of the line 🙂
Great soup, we’ve been eating lots too – filling, healthy, and inexpensive lunches. I like the squeeze of lemon idea
I didn´t realise there was so much to learn…I need to get my gardening books out 🙂 Soup is so perfect at this time of year and where you are, with the cold, even more so!
looks so yummy and healthy, glad you are feeling better
Ah – thank you so much for your good wishes!
I just love a wonderful soup recipe.. and I must say this veggie soup looks absolutely amazing. Especially since it’s getting colder here 🙂
Thanks Kay – it certainly warmed us up (even though it´s not actually cold here) and made us feel better!
Looks extremely hearty and cleansing! Yum. x
I hope you’re feeling better. The Husband and the kids had a stomach bug over Christmas…it wasn’t pretty! I managed to put 2.5 lbs on over Christmas so am delighted it wasn’t more. But soup is going to be featuring pretty heavily on our menus over the next few weeks…healthy, low calorie, nutrient dense. What more can you ask?
Oh dear, a whole household full of sick big and little people, what a shame. Soup is great for helping you feel better and lost those extra pounds…but hey, it was Christmas, so I´m sure it was worth a little weight gain!
Even though I’m almost fully recovered from my sickness, I think I could still use a soup like this to get me fully back to 100%.
Soup is such a great healer 🙂