It starts with the steam. The pot goes on, the windows fog up, and somewhere above the whare the stars are being fed.
That's the hautapu way — during Matariki, kai is cooked and the steam rises to feed the stars. This soup is our home version of that idea. Nothing fancy, everything warm.
The rules
Rule #1: roast it harder than feels right. The dark caramelised edges are the flavour — leave them be.
Rule #2: no peeling. Roast it, scoop it. The pumpkin does the mahi.
Rule #3: the honey goes in off the heat. Always. Kānuka is mānuka's lesser-known cousin — lighter, floral, a little delicate. Heat steals those notes, so Kai Ora Kānuka Honey is the last thing in the pot.
INGREDIENTS (Serves 6 — or 4 if the cousins are around)
- 1.5kg pumpkin, seeds out
- 2 onions, halved
- 1 whole bulb of garlic
- 2 tablespoons Kai Ora Kānuka Honey, plus extra for the finish
- ¼ cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt and cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- ½ cup coconut cream
- 400ml water
- 1 litre chicken stock
METHOD
1. Oven to 200°C.
2. Pumpkin, onions (cut-side up) and garlic on a lined tray. Drizzle with the oil and kānuka honey, season well.
3. Roast for about an hour — see Rule #1 — until the onions are deeply caramelised and the pumpkin is soft. Cool enough to handle.
4. Scoop the pumpkin into a big pot. Squeeze the garlic from its skins, add the onions.
5. Whisk the curry powder into the coconut cream.
6. Add the stock, water and coconut cream to the pot. Blend until velvety.
7. Bring to a gentle boil.
8. Off the heat, stir through one more spoonful of kānuka honey — Rule #3. That's the soul of the soup.
The Matariki moment
Bowl up. Look up. Pot in the middle of the table, warm bread alongside — our parāoa parai was made for dunking in this.
Slow kai. Warm whare. Kai from here, for the year ahead — tag us in your pots, we reshare our favourites every Matariki. 🍲⭐
Mānawatia a Matariki.