Recipe: Creamy Curry Pumpkin Soup

This soup is creamy, savory, and has wonderful bites of black beans and tart tomatoes. 

I love creamy, thick soups and this Curry Pumpkin Soup is all that. Plus, it’s fragrant with all the spices and has a slight kick to it from the cayenne pepper. The original recipe calls for heavy cream. I swapped that for cashew cream, which is a superior substitute.

Curry Pumpkin Soup

(Based on the Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup by Rachael Ray)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 medium or large onion chopped
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• 1-inch piece of ginger minced or 1 tablespoon of ginger paste (I always have a large jar of this around; buy it at the Indian store or in the ethnic aisle at the grocery store). You could use 1/2 tsp. of ginger powder if you don't have fresh ginger or ginger paste.
• 3 tablespoons of organic sugar 
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne
• 2-1/2 cups vegan broth (you can use veggie broth; I used NotChick’n bouillon cubes to make my broth)
• 2 cups canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 c. cashew cream (1/2 cup of soaked cashews, drained, and then blended with 1/2 cup of water until smooth)
• 15-oz can of black beans rinsed and drained
• 14.5-oz can of diced roasted tomatoes (don't drain)
• Salt to taste (I used 1 tablespoon of kosher salt)

Directions:

Heat the oil over medium heat and sauté onions for 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, ginger, sugar, and spices, and cook for 1 minute, stirring regularly so spices become fragrant but don't burn. Whisk in broth, black beans, tomatoes, and pumpkin puree. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low. Add the cashew cream and almond milk. Taste and add salt to your preference. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Serve hot with a dollop of vegan yogurt or vegan sour cream and chopped fresh chives.

Recipe: Tamale Casserole with Neat Mexican Mix

In yesterday’s post I reviewed Neat, which is a shelf-stable, dry-mix, meat-alternative product that’s available in three flavors: Mexican, Italian, and Original.

Using the Mexican mix, I made a hearty tamale casserole inspired by a recipe from Plan To Eat. 

Tamales are delicious but definitely require a bit of time to prepare. That’s why I like making tamale casseroles because I cook the filling, throw it in a pan, top it with the masa dough, and then bake. The trick to a perfect topping is steaming the masa dough so it obtains the tender, flaky consistency of a tamale cooked in a corn husk.

The last couple times I’ve made a tamale casserole, I prepared my dish, topped it with the masa, and then set the glassware on a rack inside of a roasting pan. I then added enough water into the roasting pan so the water level came about halfway up the side of the glassware. I covered the entire roasting pan and glassware with a few sheets of aluminum foil and baked it. The water bath steamed the masa effectively. 

I wanted to try Plan To Eat’s way because it didn’t involve the water bath. I did cover the glassware with foil because I was concerned the masa topping would get dry without it.

Masa is fun to work with because the texture is very fine. When you add a liquid, the mixture feels soft and fluffy in your hands. 

Tamale Casserole

Ingredients:

Topping:

• 2 cups masa
• 1-1/2 tsp of baking powder
• ½ tsp of salt
• ½ c of melted coconut oil
• 2 cups of vegetable broth

Directions:

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and then pour in the melted coconut oil and vegetable broth. Mix with a spoon and then your hands until the dough can be shaped into a ball. Set aside the bowl and complete the filling.

Filling:

• 1 package of Neat Mexican mix, prepared and set aside
• 1 T of oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 c. salsa
• ½ c. corn
• 1 can of black beans, drain and rinsed
• 1 c. of chopped olives
• Optional: chopped jalapenos, bell peppers, green onions.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Over medium heat, saute the onions in the oil in a large skillet. After 5 minutes, add the minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the salsa, corn, beans, and prepared Neat mix. Simmer for 3-5 minutes and then remove from the heat. The Neat mixture will break down in the skillet and take on the texture of refried beans. You want the filling to be on the wetter side, so add more salsa juice or a couple tablespoons of veggie broth if the mixture starts to get pasty. Taste and add salt if needed.

The onion, corn, bean, and Neat mixture.

Transfer the filling to a 13-by-9-inch pan. Top with the chopped olives. (I also added chopped green onions). Grab a handful of the masa dough and flatten it in between your hands before laying it on the filling; repeat until the filling is covered. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and leave it covered on the stove for 10 minutes or so. 

Once in the glassware, I topped the mixture with chopped olives and green onions.

I flattened the masa dough in my hands and then placed the pieces over the mixture.

The masa topping was flavorful and slightly moist. The water-bath method produces a slightly moister topping, but the difference isn’t that great. With the water-bath method, you bake the dish for about an hour and then allow it to cool under the foil for 10-15 minutes. Bake longer if the topping looks like it needs more steaming.

I topped this tamale pie with salsa and some homemade Cilantro Avocado cream sauce, recipe from Oh She Glows here. (Scroll down for cream recipe)

A piece of tamale casserole topped with salsa and a cilantro avocado cream sauce.

The dish was spicy, sweet, tangy, and briny. The beans and corn gave a nice chew, while the Neat provided a creamy texture. The masa topping delivered a slight corn flavor and pastry-like texture. This is a dish worth making again!