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Creamy Pumpkin Soup
Difficulty Level Easy
I love this time of the year when people decorate their front porches with beautiful big pumpkins. The leaves are changing and beginning to fall here in Toronto and when the sun shines the streets just seem to glow with yellow and orange. Then it will be November, with the bare branches and grey days, so I enjoy this thoroughly while I can.
November leaves us with hard skinned, firm fleshed squashes, while October gives us the soft skinned, melting flesh of the pumpkin. Cooking with pumpkin is so versatile, lending itself to pies, breads, soups and stews. I've banned canned pumpkin from my pantry this year, using only fresh pumpkin for my recipes. I'm probably going to have to rethink that come Christmas, but for now I'm doing a lot of roasting.
I used 10% cream in this recipe rather than the 35% called for, but you could use plain yogurt as well. I also roasted it in olive oil rather than sitting it in water, because I like the way it caramelizes in the oven. I garnished it with croutons and a bit of gruyere cheese, but toasted pumpkin seeds or pine nuts would be nice too.
INGREDIENTS
| 1 pie | pumpkin, 5 or 6 lbs |
| 4 oz | unsalted butter |
| 2 onions | , peeled and diced |
| 1 tbsp | ground cinnamon |
| 8 cups | chicken or vegetable stock, or water |
| 1/2 cup | pure maple syrup |
| 1 cup | heavy cream |
| salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste | |
PREPARATION:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a shallow baking pan, set aside. Cut pumpkin in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and strings. Place seeds in a large bowl of water and rinse well to remove any remaining pulp. Drain well, set aside.
- Place the pumpkin in the prepared baking pan, cut side down, and add 1 cup of water to the dish. Bake until fork tender, 45 minutes to 1 1/4 hrs depending on the size of the pumpkin. remove from the oven and set aside to cool. When pumpkin is cool enough to handle, peel and discard skin.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325F. Place reserved pumpkin seeds in an even layer on an ungreased baking sheet. Season with salt, if desired. Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until the seeds are dry and crunchy. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Seeds can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Melt butter in a large pot. Add the onions and cook over medium heat until soft. Add pumpkin, cinnamon and stock. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Puree soup with an immersion blender, or working in batches, transfer the soup to a blender and puree until smooth, then transfer puree back to the pock. Cover over a medium heat for another 5minutes. Slowly whisk in maple syrup and cream and continue to cook until heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with pumpkin seeds, if desired.
From Dishing Up Vermont by Tracey Medeiros.
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