Thai pumpkin, corn and chickpea stew

We have been eating a lot of stews to warm us up on these chilly winter evenings.  It also helps when I am tired and busy and battling a cold.  Today I share a serendipitous stew I made when my mum brought me some chickpeas and pumpkins.

Mum came to visit when I had just roasted big chunks of pumpkin.  I had thought of making sandwiches with the skins but instead we just ate them straight off the hot pumpkin and they were so good.  Once she left I had fun arranging the topping.
 

I was inspired by Lorraine's pretty soup soup toppings.  Then I decided to use parsley, basil and baby leeks (very like chives) from my back garden.  I love having herbs in the garden because herbs are so ridiculously expensive to buy.  But having them growing means needing to use them regularly to keep the herbs healthy.  This was a perfect way to use up some bits and pieces.  As well as herbs I had a couple of cherry tomatoes that were getting wrinkly.  I added toasted coconut and pumpkin seeds to echo the ingredients in the soup.  The toppings gave the soup some lovely flavour.

So this soup was a great sustainable venture.  I had actually been about to go and buy some vegies to make soup because I started to appreciate what was already available in my kitchen.  Which was a relief on a day when I was low in energy.  As well as using up some herbs, I also ended adding leftover tomatoes and cooked broccoli from Sylvia's dinner to the soup when I put away the leftovers. 

I really appreciated the leftover stew the second night.  I took the day off work and slept all morning and saw the doctor in the afternoon about my cough that has been bothering me and sapping me of energy.  These are the days when leftovers keep me sane.  It was a really hearty stew, full of flavour and very satisfying.  And so pretty to look at.  But let me confess that while I had lots of fun arranging the toppings, it was just for the camera.  The stew tasted just as good with them stirred it.  It is all about taste after all!

I am sending this stew to #G2BGF linky (run by Glutarama and the Gluten Free Alchemist) and Eat Your Greens (run by Allotment2Kitchen and The VegHog).

More Thai inspired dishes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Corn fritters (gf) 
Easy vegetarian thai curry (v)
Skye's tomato and pumpkin curry with lime and coconut (gf, v)
Thai curry split pea soup (gf, v)
Thai style salad with noodles (gf, v)
Vegetarian Pad Thai (gf, v)

Thai pumpkin, corn and chickpea soup
An original Green Gourmet Giraffe recipe
serves 4

800g jap pumpkin (approx)
1 to 2 tsp oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 dessertspoon thai curry paste
3 cups vegie stock
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 400g tin)
400g tin creamed corn
250ml tin coconut cream
1 cup water, or as needed
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
2 to 3 cups cooked rice

To serve:
1 tbsp each toasted pumpkin seeds, toasted coconut, chopped cherry tomatoes, chives (baby leeks), parsley, basil, according to availability and desire.

First roast the pumpkin with skin on in large chunks with a drizzle of oil and sprinkle of salt for about 1 hour at 220 C.  It is cooked when it is soft if you stick a knife in it.  Trim skin off and roughly chop.  (You can discard the skin but I highly recommend eating it for snacks or putting it in a sandwich.)

Fry onion in oil over medium heat until soft.  Stir in curry paste.  Add vegie stock, chickpeas and creamed corn.  Bring to the boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes.  Add coconut, about a cup of water, salt and rice.  Check seasoning and consistency and adjust salt and water as needed.

Serve and arrange toppings on bowl or just mix the toppings in.

NOTES:
I also stirred in some chopped tomatoes and chopped broccoli which worked well.  I used a few herbs because they are in my garden but if not then I would only put in a few different ones if they were available.  About 2-3 cups of pumpkin puree or roasted pumpkin could be substituted for the raw pumpkin if you don't have time or inclination to roast it.

On the Stereo:
The Boy with the Arab Strap: Belle and Sebastian