Pumpkin Soup

[TarteTatin]

I got a fresh cooking pumpkin from my CSA, and I want to make a soup similar to the Soupe au Potiron that I get in France.

Can anyone help with recipes for something similar; or, if not, just a good pumpkin soup recipe?

I also need help with the actual cutting and cooking of the pumpkin itself.

Thanks!

[andiesenji]

I just cut the pumpkin into chunks, scrape off the seeds and strands and steam it for about 20-30 minutes which is usually long enough to make it soft enough to remove the skin.

From that point it can be stewed in stock then pureed in a blender or with an immersion blender right in the pot when it is soft enough - I usually test it by sticking a fork in a chunk and if it falls right off the fork then it is soft enough to blend.

And here is my recipe for a different

PUMPKIN SOUP

1 large onion, diced

1/4 cup, butter (1/2 stick)

1/2 teaspoon Madras curry paste

2 1/2 cups, chicken or vegetable stock

3 cups cooked pumpkin cut into 1 inch cubes

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (1 teaspoon if regular table salt)

2 cups heavy cream

1/8 teaspoon each of allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a large sauté pan or wide shallow pan and allow it to just begin to brown.

Add the diced onions and cook until translucent.

Add the curry paste and stir well.

Add the stock and bring to a simmer.

Add the pumpkin and continue to simmer for 15 minutes.

Using an immersion blender (or in small batches in a stand blender)

Puree the mixture until smooth. (Return to the pan if using blender.)

Continue to blend with a whisk while adding the salt, cream and spices.

Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes.

Do not allow soup to boil.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle with toasted chopped pecans.

Alternatively you can garnish with a teaspoon of mango chutney and crushed sesame crackers.

This also works well in mugs for a carry-around starter.

Serves 6

If you don't like curry, you can use alternative flavors, such as a herb mixture, a little hot sauce, siracha, etc.

[Shalmanese]

I like cutting in half, scooping out the seeds, brushing to the top with some melted butter, s&p and then roasting them at 350F - 400F for about an hour. At the same time, I stick about 3- 4 large baking potatos in to be roasted as well.

After an hour, the flesh is so soft you can just scoop it out and the potatos are the same. The potato skins get fried in duck fat and are a treat for the chef. The other stuff gets thrown into a pot with some caremalised onions, cream, milk and nutmeg. Let come to a simmer and then zap with an immersion blender.

[alexw]

have a pumpkin and ginger soup on my menu at the mo, the soup is peeled, seeded and diced pumpkin, double bagged (vacuum) and boiled in the bag till tender, sweat about 10% shallots with a little garlic and butter, add the pumpkin from the bag and cover with a veg stock. bring to the boil, blitz and pass.

for the ginger i use 1 part ginger juice, 1 part lime juice and 4 parts stock syrup, allow to cool add 1 heaped teaspoon of lecithin and blend with a hand blender, pour the soup into a bowl and spoon the foam on top (not too much cos it's very powerful), the lecithin in the foam will keep the bubbles stable for quite a while.

Alex.

[Busboy]

A not-bad way to prepare a pumpkin is to steam a bunch of mussels in white wine and shallots, strain and add some of the juice to the pumpkin guts during the pureeing process, and then spoon the -- de-shelled -- mussels into the soup just before serving.

[andiesenji]

Here is another recipe for squash or pumpkin.

Squash or pumpkin soup

6 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

2 medium carrots, grated

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups water

1 medium butternut squash, other winter squash or pumpkin, (about 2 1/2 pounds), peeled and coarsely grated

1/2 cup half-and-half or light cream

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a 6-quart Dutch oven or stock pot, melt butter over medium heat.

Add the shallots, onion and garlic and cook until golden.

Add the grated carrots and continue cooking for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the broth and water and bring to a boil.

Add the squash, reduce to a simmer and cook covered for 10-15 minutes. (Grating the carrots and squash allows this to cook more rapidly than cubed.)

Using an immersion blender, blend until completely smooth.

Add the cream and the salt and continue cooking over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes.

Serve with croutons. Spiced or herbed.

Cut French bread into cubes, so you have about a quart, loosely measured.

Toss with 4 tablespoons melted butter and a mixture of 1/4 ground allspice and 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt until cubes are evenly coated. (You may substitute an herb mixture or ground hot pepper instead of the allspice.)

Spread on a sheet pan and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

Serve in large mugs for a starter. Six to eight generous servings.

[TarteTatin]

Thanks, Andiesenji!

We used the first recipe you sent, and made it last night. Hubby cooks Indian a lot, so he made his own combination of Madras Curry paste (who knows what he put in!).

We haven't tasted it yet, but it smells great!

Froze most of it (without the milk/cream), and we'll have it for lunch tomorrow.

[andiesenji]

Thanks, Andiesenji!

We used the first recipe you sent, and made it last night. Hubby cooks Indian a lot, so he made his own combination of Madras Curry paste (who knows what he put in!).

We haven't tasted it yet, but it smells great!

Froze most of it (without the milk/cream), and we'll have it for lunch tomorrow.

←

I often make my own curry paste and it is never the same twice in a row. It depends on what ingredients I have on hand, the season, the phase of the moon or what kind of mood I am in at the time.

It is always going to include onions, garlic, ginger and chiles, plus coriander, cumin, cloves, and turmeric and I use frest galangal if I have it. Sometimes I sweeten it with palm sugar (have a 2-pound jar that I have been trying to use up for two years.) Sometimes I add coconut paste and grated orange peel so it isn't exactly 100% authentic Madras but I fiddle with it until it is to my taste. An Indian friend told me years ago that every cook in India has their own recipe for curry paste or powder and variation is the name of the game and as long as the basic spices are included it is indeed curry.

I included Madras curry paste in the recipe list because it is the easiest to find in markets just about anywhere.

My favorite local "ethnic" market carries about 10 different varieties, different brands of curry paste and several brands of curry powder.

I never use the powder, I don't trust that it will not be full of filler.

Edited October 31, 2005 by andiesenji (log)

[bergerka]

I'm crossposting from another thread here, but I found this recipe in Self magazine and it was so good we ate it all weekend. Grate a little parmesan or gruyère on top of it.

The pumpkin is kind of a pain in the ass to peel and cut up, but it was certainly worth it in terms of taste.

1/4 tsp saffron threads

10 cups (2 1/2 quarts) chicken broth

1 1/4 cups dried yellow split peas

1 large onion, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp ground cinnamon (this smells like way too much cinnamon while it's cooking. It's not.)

1/4 tsp ground ginger

6 cups peeled, seeded and cubed pumpkin (from a 3- to 4-pound pumpkin)

Minced fresh parsley

In a large metal spoon or a small pan, heat saffron over low heat about

10 seconds until dry, then grind to a powder with the back of a spoon

and steep in 1 tbsp boiling water to release flavor, about 1 minute.

Bring broth, peas, and onion to a boil in a large soup pot over high

heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, 30 to 40

minutes. Stir in oil, cinnamon, ginger, spoonful of saffron, and

pumpkin. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low and simmer, partially

covered, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. The soup is done when the

pumpkin begins to fall apart and the peas are tender. Salt and pepper

and sprinkle with parsley.