Roast pumpkin and turmeric soup
He's the chef-turned-model who wants to put real-food back on the menu. Splitting his time between modelling for Moschino and Valentino, Isaac Carew was raised in the kitchen, watching his grandfather and father (both chefs) cook. He's not just a pretty face, schooled in Gordon Ramsay's kitchens training under Angela Hartnett, he's tired of the phrase 'clean eating' and he's in the kitchen helping us celebrate Thanksgiving.
Pumpkin soup
Ingredients
1kg pumpkin or butternut squash
olive oil
sea salt
1 tsp ground turmeric, plus extra for top
2 onions
2 garlic cloves
1 stick lemongrass
1 thumbnail of ginger
1–1.5 litres chicken stock (optional)
1 bay leaf
Method
Preheat the oven to 200ºC (fan 180℃/gas mark 6).
Start by peeling and deseeding the pumpkin or squash. Cut into rough chunks and cover in a glug of olive oil, a pinch of salt and ½ teaspoon of the turmeric. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes.
While the pumpkin is roasting, slice the onions and crush the garlic. Bash the lemongrass and peel and chop the ginger.
Heat a large saucepan with a glug of olive oil and fry the onions, garlic, lemongrass, and ginger for 5–8 minutes, until soft, adding the remaining ½ teaspoon turmeric in the last few minutes.
Add the roasted pumpkin to the onion mixture and stir for a couple of minutes, then cover with enough chicken stock or boiling water to just cover the veg. Add the bay leaf and simmer for 30 minutes.
Blitz or blend the soup until smooth - if using a hand blender, always cover the pan with a kitchen cloth to protect you from scalding. Serve drizzled with olive oil and a tiny pinch of turmeric.
Parsley scones
Ingredients
500g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
150g ice-cold butter
50 – 100g bunch of fresh parsley
250ml whole milk
2 large eggs, plus 1 extra for egg wash
pinch of sea salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C, fan 180C, Gas 6. Place the flour and ice-cold butter into a food processor and blend until you have a breadcrumb-like consistency. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the baking powder, mixing in with a fork.
Finely chop the parsley and add to the bowl.
Whisk together the milk and eggs and slowly add to the flour mixture, until you get a dough consistency. Add the salt.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough until it’s roughly 2.5cm (1in) thick or half the size of a cooked scone.
Use a pastry cutter to cut out round shapes, or any shape you like. You should be able to make 6–12 scones, depending on the size of your cutter.
Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Place the scones on the tray, brush them with a little egg wash and bake for 15 minutes until golden and delicious. Serve with the soup.
Recipes taken from The Dirty Dishes by Isaac Carew