SELF-SUFFICENCY . DESIGN . FOOD . TRAVEL
A journal documenting and sharing our curiosities
WINTER PUMPKIN SOUP.
PREPARATION TIME: 20 minutes COOK TIME: 40 minutes SEASON: autumn/winter
With an armful of butternut pumpkins picked from the farm and placed in the box next to the other dozen, the cold chilli air nudging the back of my exposed neck, it was time to make that pumpkin soup I had been chatting about. The perfect pre-winter treat, even though lately, it already felt like winter! Easy to make and easy to freeze for later, I was also starting to miss one of my favourite flavour pairs; pumpkin and cumin.
This is one of our favourite recipes, and we are so lucky to have some on the organic farm. You can make this with a peeled back traditional pumpkin soup flavour using salt, pepper, stock and cream in at the end. Or, add in some extra flavour layers some of our cottage favourites, cumin, caraway and dill.
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
1 onion, chopped finely
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
60g butter
1 ltr of vegetable stock
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp coriander
2 tbsp dried garlic flakes (optional)
2 tbsp dried onion flakes (optional)
1 kg butternut pumpkin
½ leek, sliced (rinse).
½ cup chopped spring onion
Salt and pepper, to taste
½ cup cream
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Peel and chop pumpkin into 3cm cubes, set aside.
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In a large saucepan, add butter and onion and fresh garlic until slightly translucent and softened.
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Pour in the stock. Add cumin, cloves, coriander, garlic flakes and onion flakes.
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Add in pumpkin, spring onion and leek and bring to the boil.
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Simmer over the heat until the pumpkin is soft. Turn off heat and remove from the hot plate. The leek and spring onion should also be cooked.
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Set aside and let the soup cool. Separate the vegetables, keeping the stock, by draining vegetables (don’t throw away stock!). Put the vegetables in a food processor/blender along with ½ cup of the stock. Blender until smooth, or to your preferred consistency.
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Remove pureed pumpkin soup from the blender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
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Add the cream and stir, or keep it as a side, to pour over soup when served.
Notes
You can use the left-over stock to thin the pureed pumpkin soup if preferred.
Alternatively, you can use this with cooked chicken and corn, which makes a delicious soup.