Pumpkin, Ginger & Coconut Soup
Pumpkin Soup the Miss Bliss Way
Miss Bliss Staple Pumpkin Soup:
If you didn’t know I used to own a cafe called Miss Bliss from 2015-2020, now who remembers one dish that showed up every single winter without fail? Our Pumpkin Soup. Customers came in chilled from the Brisbane winter air, and the soup was creamy, cozy, and rich with layers of ginger, turmeric, and coconut, a hug in a bowl. Over the years, it has become so loved that we started wholesaling it to other cafes from our offsite catering kitchen. It was a full blown operation, chopping, roasting, blending and packing with care. It was a full blown 4-5 day operation. Everything had to be heat-sealed, labelled, cooled properly, and moved with precision.
But… like any real kitchen story, things didn’t always go perfectly.
One winter, after a massive batch, the fridge we used to cool the soup down didn’t quite recover from the heat of 200L of hot pumpkin soup. The temperature stayed higher than it should have, it wasn’t unsafe, but it took longer to cool down, and the soup turned sour! A full recall was needed.. EVERYTHING had to be redone in only 2 days. I remember after that fiasco, the small of garlic, onions and pumpkin was literally engraved into my skin. It followed me home, into my clothes, my hair… my dreams.
To this day, I have a slight bit of PTSD over pumpkin soup. It is a love/hate relationship now, mostly love though. Because even in the chaos, that soup was a symbol of warmth, care, and community. It was a staple at Miss Bliss because it brought comfort, and that’s always been at the heart of what we do.
If you love the blend of ginger and coconut, with the earthy sweetness of roasted pumpkin, this is a soup you’ll want to make over and over. Maybe don’t try to make 200L at once ;)
What That Batch Taught Me:
Looking back, that whole 200L soup fiasco taught me something I’ll never forget: things will go wrong, sometimes overwhelmingly wrong. but you can adapt, you can fix it, and you can keep going. There was no time to dwell, only time to get chopping, roasting, and keeping up open communication with our vendors. It reminded me that perfection isn’t the goal, care it. Care in how you up, how you respond, and how you still pour love into every single batch, even when you’re tired and smell like onions for three days straight. It is one of the biggest reasons I still love this soup. Not just for the taste but for what is represents: resilience, warmth, and the kind of grit you only get when you’re in the thick of it.
Pumpkin, Ginger & Coconut Soup
Makes: 5 Serves
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
1kg chopped pumpkin (skinoff) cut into 3x3cm cubes
1 large brown onion (diced)
1 Tbsp minced ginger
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp ground turmeric
1 Tbsp tomato paste
500ml chicken or vegetable stock or broth
Juice of half a lemon
2 Tbsp olive oil
400ml coconut cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 190°C (fan-forced)
2. Line large baking tray with baking paper, add the pumpkin, onions, turmeric, garlic, tomato paste, and a drizzle of olive oil to the tray. Toss everything together until well coated. Roast in the oven for 30minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
3. Once cooked, add the pumpkin mix to a blender and top with stock and coconut cream.
4. Blend till smooth
Serve with my Grilled Cheese Croutons