food international: Pumpkin Soup

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I realize I just posted a bright orange (carrot) pureed soup a couple of weeks ago, but you know what? I don’t sit down and plan my food cravings. I am who I am and that’s all that I am. I eat what I eat and that’s all that I eat. Times infinity.

This pumpkin soup is yummy, creamy, and so velvety-smooth (not to play favorites, but much smoother than the carrot soup) you won’t believe it. And the pumpkin flavor? Fugghetaboutit. It’ll rock your world in the most wonderful way.

Serve the soup in bowls like normal people…or get fancy-schmancy and serve it in hollowed-out pumpkins of whatever size you’d like. Teeny tiny ones would be darling. But teeny tiny ones aren’t big enough for me and my rather gigantic appetite.

First: the pumpkin. You can follow my directions for Homemade Pumpkin Puree (up until the puree part) which involves seeding the pumpkin, then cutting it into chunks before roasting and pureeing the flesh. But this time, I decided to go the easy route and just stick the dang pumpkins in the oven for about an hour.

 

Poor pumpkins!

 

So here’s what you need for the soup: pumpkins (pumpkin puree), stock (vegetable or chicken), heavy cream, nutmeg, maple syrup, salt, and pumpkin seeds.

 

I used storebought pumpkin seeds, then just threw ’em on a cookie sheet to toast them for a few minutes.

 

And here’s the deal with the pumpkin: if you roast them whole like I did this time, it can be a little bit of a mess separating the pulp and seeds from the wonderful flesh (thought it isn’t difficult to separate the skin from the flesh, so no problem there.) If you follow my pumpkin puree directions in the link above, you scoop out the pulp and seeds before roasting…so it’s a little easier to manage.

No huge difference, though—just close your eyes and pick a method!

In any event, you’ll need a good 5 cups or so of roasted pumpkin.

Begin by pouring the stock into a pot.

 

Add the roasted pumpkin.

 

Then drizzle in some maple syrup.

 

My goodness.

Next, mash up the pumpkin a bit as you begin to heat up the mixture. This won’t get the soup velvety smooth, of course, but it’ll just help the pumpkin become more at one with the other ingredients.

Now just stir it around and let it heat completely. It should be simmering and steamy.

 

In one or two batches depending on the size of your blender (or using an immersion blender) totally puree the mixture until it can’t be pureed any more.

Then add the heavy cream and a good dash or two of nutmeg…

And puree again. (If you puree in two batches, just split the cream in half.) Look at this magical pitcher of bright orange liquid velvet!

 

The soup should still be plenty hot and can be served right from the pitcher. (If it cooled down at all, just return it to the pot and heat it up over medium-low heat.) You can use a bowl, of course…or you can hollow out some pumpkins and be all adorable.

 

I chose the be-all-adorable route. I have to grab it wherever I can get it, as my dewy youth is slipping away from me with each passing second.

 

Please take note of my artful bowl of inedible gourds in the background. Nice touch, Ree.

Not.

Oooh! I forgot the best, best part: spoon on a little circle of extra cream.

This isn’t adorable. This is life-giving.

Finally, sprinkle on some toasted pumpkin seeds.

 

My sister Betsy chowed down on this when she was here a couple of weeks ago, and she kept remarking about how velvety smooth it was, how she could hardly feel it on her tongue because it was so perfect and smooth.

My sister and I love food. We spend an inordinate time talking about it.

Enjoy this, guys!

(Thanksgiving recipes are coming soon, including lots of leftover turkey recipes. Yum.)

Recipe

Pumpkin Soup

Prep Time:

5 Minutes

Difficulty:

Easy

Cook Time:

1 Hours

Servings:

8 Servings

Ingredients

• 2 whole Pie Pumpkins
• 1 quart Vegetable Or Chicken Stock
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• 1/3 cup Maple Syrup
• Dash Of Nutmeg
• Salt To Taste
• Extra Cream, For Serving

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place pumpkins on a cookie sheet and roast them until slightly shriveled and soft. Allow to cool slightly, then slice in half and carefully scoop out seeds and pulp. Scoop yummy flesh into a bowl. Set aside.

In a pot, heat up the pumpkin flesh with the stock and maple syrup until simmering. Mash out the big chunks, the transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor (or use an immersion blender) and puree until velvety smooth. Add cream and nutmeg, then blend again.

Reheat if you need to, or just go ahead and serve in a hollowed-out pumpkin of whatever size you'd like.