Preparing dinners for you and the family every night can be a challenge; especially when you also want to create meals that are nutritious, fresh, filling and, most importantly, delicious! Between fussy eaters, long days and a lack of inspiration, dinner time can become more stressful than satiating, and healthy, wholesome eating goes out the window. With our THERMOfit Lighten Up Recipe ebook, we're here to take the stress and guesswork out of midweek meals and breathe life back into dinnertime with meals that are nutritious, filling, low-carb, high-protein, quick to whip up and so delicious!
Our Thermo recipe guides enable you to transform your nightly meals and expand your cooking repertoire with easy-to-follow recipes that can be made in just minutes, and are designed to help you get inspired and back to enjoying your time in the kitchen.
Comfort food at its finest, this Asian Pumpkin and Chicken Soup is one of the easiest and tastiest ones in my repertoire. It combines coconut milk for a creamy consistency and healthy fats, turmeric for anti-inflammatory properties, garlic and ginger for immune-boosting and cumin for antioxidant intake and good digestion. Paired with the easy-to-digest protein of chicken tenderloins and fresh herbs and veggies, this soup is a perfect all-in-one that the whole family will love!
By using the Thermomix, you can whip all elements up simultaneously and have dinner on the table in just 30 minutes. Also, by cooking the chicken tenderloins on a wet sheet of baking paper on the Thermo Varoma tray, it enables the chicken to retain all its moisture while cooking, resulting in super juicy, tender chicken every time.
This recipe is often raved about amongst the challengers in the FB support group as one that gets the family approval and continues to stay in the weekly dinner rotation long after the 6-week program has finished. There's plenty to feed a family of four, or simply freezer or refrigerate your leftovers for lunches or dinners down the track. If you're a vego, no stress, the version without chicken is in the Grain Free Vegetarian recipe ebook / 6-week program, or simply omit the chicken in this one.
INGREDIENTS
• 2 cm cube of fresh Ginger
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 1 Brown Onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 Carrot (100-120g approx) cut into chunks
• 500g Pumpkin, optional skin on, cut into chunks
• 1 TBsp Thermo Veggie stock (or 1 tsp salt)
• ½ - 1 tsp Black Pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp Curry Powder
• ½ - 1 tsp Cumin, ground, to taste
• ½ - 1 tsp Turmeric, ground (or 1cm cube of fresh Turmeric)
• 3 sprigs of Coriander (or basil if preferred)
• 450g Water
• 500g Chicken Tenderloins (see notes)
• 80g Coconut cream
• Pinch of Chilli flakes (optional)
METHOD
1. Add Ginger, Garlic, Onion, Carrot and Pumpkin into the Mixing Bowl and CHOP / 8 SEC / SP 6.
2. Add Stock, all spices, pepper, 2 sprigs of the Coriander (save some for garnish) and 450g Water. COOK / 17 MIN / VAROMA TEMP / SP 2.5
3. As soon as the soup has started cooking, place a wet sheet of baking paper (see notes) on the Varoma tray and spread the Chicken Tenderloins onto it. Place Varoma into position so the Chicken starts cooking. (Vegetarians- skip this step)
4. When the soup has finished the 17 minutes, check if Chicken needs further cooking and if so, continue cooking until cooked through still using VAROMA TEMP / SP 2. This will not overcook the soup.
5. When Chicken is cooked through, set the Varoma aside for a moment. Put the scales on and add Coconut Cream to soup through the hole in the Mixing bowl lid.
6. Place Varoma back into position and BLEND, increasing speed slowly, 45 SEC / SP 9.
7. Transfer the soup to a Thermoserver. (Vegetarians go to step 9.) Rinse the mixing bowl with cold tap water to slightly cool the bowl, no need to wash. Add half of the Chicken to the mixing bowl and SHRED / REVERSE / 3-4 SEC / SP 4.
8. Set aside and repeat the shredding process with the other half of Chicken. Your choice to add all the shredded Chicken to the soup, divide it amongst the serves individually or if preferred, serve this meal as vegetarian and keep the shredded chicken to use in lunches tomorrow.
9. Garnish with the remaining Coriander/Basil leaves and an optional little swirl of Coconut Cream and Chilli flakes to taste.
RECIPE NOTES/TIPS
Use the Shredded Chicken for lunches instead (salads/wraps etc) and have this as a Vegetarian meal.
Using the wet baking paper is perfect for cooking one meal for vegetarians and meat eaters alike. It separates the juices from dripping down into the soup and keeps the soup out of contact with the meat. You can also buy a reusable stainless steel Thermomix Varoma Tray for this also.
Click here to get one and if you don't have a consultant feel free to put in my name (Noni Jenkins) as we receive a small commission for our customer purchases.
• You can also use butternut pumpkin/squash for this recipe.
• If using Chicken breast or thigh, cut it into large chunks.
• Swap Chicken for Fish or Prawns (without the shredding) however cooking time will vary. Usually much less cooking time.
• If sharing this with family/kids, you may wish to use the lower option of the spices as it is quite flavoursome.
10 Thermomix Hacks & Benefits in this recipe
1. Using the Varoma dish/tray on top while cooking at high temperatures allows you to add/increase to the meal itself or have something ready as left overs for later. For example adding eggs into the varoma (dish or tray) while cooking using the Varoma temp for a minimum of 14 mins to have boiled eggs ready. It could also be extra veggies to go into the soup or for a later time.
2. Use WET baking paper or a Varoma tray insert (mix shop) for under any protein when cooking as it saves time cleaning and also separates meat and veg if you are cooking for vegetarians.
3. By adding Protein (Chicken) to this soup we are making it much more filling, satisfying and goes further and makes more serves.
4. Use your Thermoserver to keep the Soup warm while you shred the chicken.
5. When checking the contents in the Varoma or removing the varoma like in step 5, flip the varoma lid upside down to face up and that becomes a dish to hold the rest of the varoma without dripping water everywhere.
6. Best results for shredding Chicken- Shred Chicken when it is still hot. No more than 400g at a time, if more, do in batches. Must use the reverse function so it doesn't chop/mince instead of shred. Start with 3 seconds and if needed increase by 1 sec at a time (still using reverse speed 4) until desired shred level achieved.
7. If you are a TM31 or a TM5 owner and want to get a new MC (measuring cup) I recommend buying a TM6 one as it fits better (slightly clips in) and is same material as the lid so it doesn't discolour or break.
8. Another way of serving the shredded Chicken if it isn't going into the soup is to add other flavours in when shredding. Such as, Mayo, Mustard, Salt/Pepper, dried herbs/spices/chilli flakes etc.
9. If you get the inevitable Turmeric Stain on your lid after this recipe simply place it into the direct sun for a minimum of 2hrs and it should disappear.
10. Pumpkin (especially Butternut) is a low carb nutrient packed vegetable that is packed with Beta Carotene, which the body converts to Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Fibre amongst other things.
