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I have figured out how to sneak pumpkin into everything this year. You have to try this combination, Thai Pumpkin Laksa with Crunchy “Fried” Chickpeas.
I’m talking sweet AND savory. Most years I tend to go the all savory route with pumpkin. Remember, I rarely mix my chocolate with fruit (yes pumpkin is a fruit – it’s actually a berry!), I truly love an all chocolate dessert! Anyway, this year things are a bit different. It’s kind of pumpkin everything… and I am so into it.
Me and pumpkin are definitely having a moment, which I think I’ve already mentioned…
Ok, clearly, I am out of things to talk about if I am discussing my obsession with pumpkin. My life is semi-boring at the moment. Okay, not semi-boring.
Just plain BORING.
I don’t mean that I am bored, cause it’s actually the complete opposite, I am not bored in the least. I just mean that most people would think my life is boring. Basically all my time is spent either in the kitchen, crouching over food taking photos, typing at my computer, milking the goat, making grocery lists, making lists in general or cleaning the kitchen.
It’s kind of busy over here, but I actually love it. I have discovered that I stress more when I am not busy. I’ve also wondered if there will ever be a time in my life where I am not stressed and can actually relax instead. I think about this a lot. Ever since I can remember, I have been a stresser. I don’t think I’ve ever known life without at least a little stress.
I don’t know if I can do life without stress.
Hmmm…..maybe when I am old…and probably clinically crazy too, maybe then I will relax.
Maybe. I dunno. That’s a big one.
WAIT, though! I do have some fun things to share. One, we got new chickens….like eight new chickens actually, and they are red feathered and pretty, and they lay lots of eggs!!
Or well, they are supposed to lay lots of eggs. So far they have only laid two, and well, Dad is totally scratching his head about it. But I’m pretty a sure a two-hour car ride on a cold night (in their coop in the back of the truck bed) to a new environment would be enough to stress them out for a bit (it would stress me out, but again, that’s saying much). Plus, the new Rhode Island Reds and our old white feathered Buff Orpingtons are not really getting along that well. They are staying segregated from each other. They literally live right outside my kitchen window, Reds on one side, Whites on the other.
It kind of makes me think of the 60’s and the separation of blacks and whites…it’s weird and I don’t like it, I want my chickens to get along…I hope they become friends soon!
And since we are on the subject of animals, I want to give you guys a little Snape update. He’s awesome! He hangs with me all day long. In fact, he is currently chillin on my desk right in between my arms and my keyboard. He likes to keep close, and I love it! I have to take a photo and show you already! If you happen to follow me on Snapchat then you’ve already seen a whole lot of this little black cat!
So another thing that’s totally not boring?
This Thai Pumpkin Laksa!
It’s full of so many great Thai flavors, and of course, lots of pumpkin – which yes, I promise pairs amazingly well with the Thai flavors going on here. This soup/noodle bowl is super simple too. Just add everything to a soup pot and simmer. Lots of ginger, a little soy sauce, canned coconut milk, pumpkin and just a small amount of peanut butter too. Like all my favorite flavors in one!!
And there are noodles involved too, AND it’s all totally HEALTHY.
Triple, YES.
Perfect for a Thursday night don’t you think??
Oh and the chickpeas!! Those are just YUM! I coated them in cinnamon sugar and roasted them until they where extra crunchy. I literally could snack on these chickpeas all day long. They are like a super healthy potato chip, but with cinnamon.
Gimme.
So tomorrow I’m thinking sweet?? Healthy today…sweets for Friday?!? You with me?
Thai Pumpkin Laksa with Crunchy "Fried" Chickpeas.
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 976 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced or grated
- 1 inch fresh ginger grated
- 1 red fresno pepper seeds removed + chopped (may use a jalapeno if needed)
- 2 green onions chopped
- 3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 small pumpkin, peeled + cut into cubes (about 3 cups cubed)
- 1 tablespoon rounded creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 (14 ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 large bunch broccolini stems trimmed
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh mint chopped
- 8 ounces rice noodles
- arils from 1 pomegranate
Crunchy "Fried" Chickpeas
- 2 (15 ounce) cans chickpeas drained + rinsed
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- salt + pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large soup pot over medium heat and add the sesame oil. Once hot, add the garlic, ginger, fresno pepper and green onions. Cook 30 seconds to 1 minute or until soft + fragrant.
- Slowly stir in the chicken or vegetable both and then add the cubed pumpkin. Bring the soup to a boil and simmer 15-20 minutes or until the pumpkin is fork tender. Add around half to 3/4 of the soup to a blender or food processor and blend until completely smooth. Return the soup to the pot.
- Add the peanut butter, soy sauce, fish sauce and coconut milk, stirring to combine. Add the broccoli and cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the rice noodles according to package directions.
- Once the broccoli is tender, remove it from the heat and stir in the cilantro + mint. Ladle the soup into bowls and add a big handful of rice noodles. Top with crunchy chickpeas (recipe below) and pomegranate arils. EAT UP!
Crunchy "Fried" Chickpeas
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Spread the chickpeas out on a towel and dry them completely. Add the chickpeas to a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil, cinnamon, brown sugar, salt + pepper. Toss well to evenly coat. Roast for 20 minutes and then stir the chickpeas around and roast another 20 minutes or until the chickpeas are browned and crunchy. Remove from the oven and serve warm atop the soup. Save any leftovers for snacking later!
A noodle for your Thursday? I do think so.
Thanks for the recipe it was amazing. How ever it’s time consuming .
Sorry about that Sharon, but I am so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you!
Thanks for the recipe it was amazing.
So glad to hear that! Thanks Sharon!
Eh…… this is the prettiest bowl of noodle i have ever seen. Then I read more of your blog and recipes…..
If you open a restaurant, the customer will be like living in heaven man……..
How can you be so creative and clever? colors, spices and and and and……..you play it all so well, so good, so pretty.
WOW!! Thank you so much!! I’ve contemplated it before! Maybe one day!!
This is amazing! Made it for dinner and 3 out 4 loved it!! (Don’t worry about #4 she only eats meat) easy, delicious and filling!!
Made this last night. I added sautéed tofu instead of chickpeas. Everyone loved it. Thank you! When can we preorder your cookbook?
SO happy you loved it, thank you!! The cookbook comes out Fall of 2017, so my guess is around early spring 2017. THANKS!
Hey! I haven’t tried this recipe yet but it looks super good! I just wanted to ask, what could I replace the fish sauce with? I’m a vegetarian so I would like to exclude that. If there’s something that would be a suitable replacement for it, or if I could leave it out all together without too drastic of an effect, I would really appreciate it. Thanks (:
HI! You can leave it out or swap it with soy sauce. Let me know if you have other questions, thank you and enjoy! 🙂
My friend sent me the link to this recipe – I can’t wait to make it!! As you’ve probably seen with your red chickens, they will probably never mix with the whites… mine never did. And, as you’ve also probably seen, your reds started producing eggs – lots of eggs – gradually. We had that happen one year because the red chickens we bought were still young… but it didn’t take them long to get up to speed! I made a chart for my husband and he’d enter the amount of eggs the hens laid each day. In the beginning it was only a few, but in a few weeks we were getting 12 eggs pretty much every day. ++ Great website!!! ; o )
Hey, I wanted to quickly point out that I found this recipe under the vegetarian tag on your recipe finder. While the recipe has no meat, and you do say chicken or veggie broth – Fish sauce is not quite vegetarian, just wanted to give you a heads up!
Thanks for the heads up Jessica I will make a note on the recipe! Happy new Year! 🙂
I made this last night and it was delicious! I think I missed the window of time where pumpkins are available at the grocery store so I used sweet potato instead, other than that I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out great! I thought the soup tasted a bit too peanut buttery at first but then once the herbs, noodles, chickpeas and pomegranate were added it was perfect. So unique, I loved it and my husband did too and he’s a carnivore! I love how the main dishes you post are always a complete meal with carbs, protein and veggies, makes things so much easier for me 🙂
Thanks!
SO happy you loved this. THANK YOU!
When I saw this recipe I just had to try it. Made it last night and all I can say is WOW!!! It was phenomenal. I’m not a huge cilantro fan but I loved the flavor combination of the cilantro with the pomegranate arils. And the toasted chickpeas added a nice texture to the dish. I think the next time I make it I’m going to steam the broccoli and then add it to the bowl, rather than letting it wilt in the soup. I liked the flavor of the soup before the addition of the broccoli. I’m wondering what the soup would taste like if crab meat were substituted for the broccoli….
I leave in Malaysia, and I can’t always have thai food because it’s too spicy. Thanks for sharing this recipe with a much more mild flavor! I’ll definitely give it a try!
xo
http://dearbabymj.com
so beautiful! what lens are you using? the photos are amazing xx
Thanks Carly!
I use either a Canon 50mm 1.2 or 35mm 1.4. THANKS! 🙂
Absolutely amazing. I made it tonight and I can’t tell you how phenomenal this is. I was hesitant on the pomegranate but it adds such a nice sweet pop of flavor. I love this recipe.
Oh awesome! So happy it was a hit! THANKS!
Hi Tieghan~ I know that fresh pumpkin is the absolute best to use in this recipe, but if I don’t have fresh pumpkin how much canned would be equivalent to use for this? Thank you!!
HI! I would go with 1 1/2 to 2 cups canned pumpkin. Hope you love this! 🙂
oh yes, we can’t get enough pumpkin this year as well! could eat it with everything 😀
This recipe looks and sounds so good <3