With pumpkin is in season, it goes without saying that I'm making lots of yummy pumpkin recipes . . . my favorite being comforting soups; especially the Pumpkin Carrot soup recipe below!
As pumpkin puree freezes very well, you might want to cook a larger quantity than you need, puree it and when completely cold, . . . freeze in zip lock bags per cup or lb. The general rule for quantity is as follows:
½ kg (1 lb ) of fresh pumpkin (without seeds) = 1 cup mashed/pureed.
To serve roasted or pureed pumpkin, count on about 250 g (½ lb) per person
Pumpkin Carrot Soup Recipe
Ingredients
½ cup olive oil
1 cup shallots, diced
2 minced garlic cloves (optional)
½ kg (1lb) carrots, cleaned, peeled, diced or sliced
1 ½ kg (3lbs) pumpkin pulp
1 l (5 cups) chicken stock
½ l (2 ½ cups) veal stock
2 - 3 Bay leaves
1 - 2 tblsp honey (optional)
1 - 2 cups of cream or half and half or coconut milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
Garnish: Roasted pumpkin seeds or minced chives
Yield: 12 generous servings
Preparation Method
Start by cooking the pumpkin.
Please note that you will need about 2 ½ kg (5 lb) fresh pumpkin to get 1 1/2 kg (3lbs) of pumpkin pulp.
My favorite method for cooking pumpkin (having removed the seeds) is to roast it in a pre-heated oven (180 C/375F); sliced and placed on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil. The cooking time will depend on the size of your slices but generally it will take around 30 – 40 minutes.
Once cooked remove peel and then, mash or puree.
Make the soup:
Sweat shallots and minced garlic cloves in olive oil. Add carrots and cook for a couple of minutes. Add pureed pumpkin, chicken and veal stock and mix. Add bay leaves and cook for about 5 - 7 minutes or until the carrots are completely cooked.
Remove bay leaves and with a small electric hand blender, puree carrot/pumpkin mixture until smooth. Add honey, cream (or coconut milk) and stir.
If you feel the soup is a bit too thick for your likeness, thin it out with some water, stock, or cream (or coconut milk).
Season with salt and pepper and serve garnished with a couple of roasted pumpkin seeds or finely chopped chives.
Tips!
Other seasoning options:
Instead of the garlic and/or bay leaves here are some alternative ideas for the seasoning of the soup that you may like:
Add fresh ginger or a little Dijon mustard to soup.
A bit of mild curry is really tasty but careful not to overdo it!
Nutmeg + ground cinnamon + ground cardamom in equal amounts gives a festive taste to the soup. Start with a ¼ tsp. of each and if you like it stronger, add a bit more of each!
For special occasions, serve the soup in small pumpkins. Cut a lid off the top and carefully hollow out the rest of pumpkin, making sure not to make any cracks. Before serving, make sure to place pumpkin either into hot oven or microwave to warm up, as otherwise the soup will be cold by the time it gets to the table!
©KaritasM – November 2018