Pumpkin Soup Recipe

– Dear Pumpkin Soup, I’ve been making you for over 20 years and I’ve always had compliments on how great you taste. After many recipe requests I finally got out my scales and weighed you in. You’re more to me than just halloween, you’re a golden velvety creation that winter simply can’t do without. Kind regards, Soup Eater.

A beautiful ripe pumpkin doesn’t need help when it comes to flavour but a subtle combination of spices that compliment each other work beautifully.

Take butter and sage for example, you’ve probably had a pasta before drizzled with Beurre Noisette and chopped herbs, so simple yet delicious. Beurre Noisette means brown butter, nut brown butter and it literally means hazenut butter, which is all about the hazelnut colour the butter becomes as it browns.

Other great flavour combinations that appear in this soup recipe include cumin and pumpkin, nutmeg and sweet potato, garlic and ginger. They all have what I like to call a ‘taste relationship’ – I just made that up so if you hear anyone using that phrase please tell them you heard it here first 😉

You may be surprised to read two of the ingredients in this recipe, cauliflower and orange. Often soup recipes include potatoes of which in a pumpkin soup adds a lovely smoothness, cauliflower does a similar thing, but also adds a nice flavour. The fresh orange juice which is added at the end contributes a natural sweetness. The orange juice is optional but it adds a lovely touch.

To be honest I have never been a big fan of soups but I do have a few favourites. I love chilled summer soups like Gazpacho (I will post the recipe in August from France, it is on the menu for a long table lunch we are hosting in our barn), and Chilled Cucumber Soup with Fresh Herbs. With winter soups I enjoy the occasional classic like Potato and Leek and Pea and Ham, and of course this Pumpkin soup recipe.

I love having a few containers of winter dishes at the ready in the freezer, in there at the moment is a few servings of my Boeuf Bourginon recipe I posted a couple of weeks ago, 2 servings of curried sausages and now 6 servings of this delicious pumpkin creation.

I hope you enjoy my pumpkin soup recipe, please leave a comment below and share the recipe if you like it. Don’t forget to follow my other food adventures on my Facebook and Instagram.

Keep warm this winter and remember comfort food can also be heathly food.

What you’ll need:

• 100 grams of butter
• 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil or olive oil
• 200 – 220 grams of leeks (just the whites)Â
• 600 grams of sweet potato (Kumera)
• 1.5 – 1.6kg of pumpkin (kent pumpkins are good right now)
• 200 grams of cauliflower chopped
• Around 10 fresh sage leaves
• I clove of garlic chopped
• 25 grams of chopped ginger
• 50 grams of sultanas
• 2 teaspoon of cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric
• 2 teaspoon of curry powder
• 1 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
• salt and pepper to season
• 2 litres of vegetable stock
• 500 mls of water
• Juice of half an orange

To serve:

• Greek yoghurt or crème fraîche
• Chopped chives
• Baguette

Preparation time 30 minutes
Cooking time 1hr

Serves 6 – 8

How to:

1. Add the butter and coconut oil (or olive oil) to a stock pot and melt on a low heat with the leeks. Stir to ensure the leeks don’t brown. Once soft add the garlic and ginger and the roughly diced sweet potato, pumpkin and cauliflower. Add the sage and stir for 5 – 8 minutes on a low to medium heat
2. Add the sultanas, cumin, curry powder and nutmeg and cook for a further 8 to 10 minutes on a low to medium heat
3. Add the vegetable stock, water and turmeric and bring to the boil then simmer for 20 – 25 minutes or until the vegetables are falling apart and the consistency is beginning to thicken
4. Take off the heat and leave to cool a little before blending. Aren’t stick blenders the best invention ever!
5. Return to a low heat and season to taste with salt and white pepper and add the orange juice. Serve with a light dusting of freshly grated nutmeg, a dollop of greek yoghurt or crème fraîche and chopped chives. Oh and a crusty baguette,

Bon appétit!

Notes for the cook:

• If the soup is too thick, thin down with a small amount of water until you reach the desired consistency
• Ensure the soup is a nice thick consistency before blending
• Try and find a very ripe pumpkin that’s bright in color. They usually have more flavour
• Never buy pre packaged chopped pumpkin, it might be convenient but it will be tasteless. Days on end inside a bag isn’t good
• Be careful when blending hot soup.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.