Vegan Chestnut Pumpkin Soup

2 standard portions

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Ingredients

• 1 lb chestnuts ((450g))
• 1 lb pumpkin (chopped and tightly packed (450g))
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion (chopped)
• 4 garlic cloves (chopped finely)
• 2 cups coconut milk (475ml)
• 4 cups vegetable stock (950ml)
• 5 sprigs of thyme (stems removed (1 tsp dried))
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• pink salt and black pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/356F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Bring a medium sized saucepan to a boil.
3. Place a chestnut on a chopping board and use a serrated knife to slice lengthways across the shell to expose the nut. Repeat this step with each of the chestnuts and set aside.
4. Once all of the chestnuts have been sliced, place them in the saucepan of boiling water.
5. Boil the chestnuts for 5 minutes
6. Then use a sieve or slotted spoon to remove and drain off the excess water
7. Place the chestnuts on  one side of the baking sheet and on the other side, place the pumpkin pieces and liberally coat them with oil.
8. Roast in the oven for 15- 20 minutes or until the pumpkin is slightly golden
9. De-shell the chestnuts while they are hot (if you can manage to) as the peel will be much harder to remove as they cool down and set aside with the pumpkin
10. On medium heat, add the oil ( I used my casserole dish)
11. Proceed to saute the onion and garlic until translucent and soft
12. Add the chestnuts, pumpkin, coconut milk and vegetable stock and simmer for 3-4 minutes while stirring
13. Use an immersion stick  or high speed blender to puree the contents into a smooth consistency
14. Stir in the thyme, nutmeg, cinnamon and black pepper and pink salt to taste
15. When the inner pot is hot add the coconut oil then proceed to saute the onion and garlic until translucent.
16. Add the chestnuts and pumpkin continue to cook for 1-2 minutes.
17. Pour in the coconut milk and vegetable stock then stir.
18. Cancel the “saute” setting.Place the lid on the pressure cooker and set the steam release knob to the “sealing” position.
19. Press the “pressure cook” button and adjust the +/- to 5  minutes (it will take a few minutes to reach maximum pressure).
20. Once cooked leave the lid on and allow to pressure to release for 5 minutes before turning the knob to “venting” to rid any excess build up of pressure.
21. Use and immersion stick blender, food processor or blender to puree the chestnuts and pumpkin into soup.
22. Season with nutmeg, cinnamon, thyme, black pepper and pink salt.