Perfect Pumpkin Soup

Hi, this recipe is from the Guardian's October 'Feast' magazine last year. Alternatively, find online here. Recipe by Felicity Cloake.

Now that we're into October, pumpkins and squashes are finally in season and I can use this recipe I have been keeping since last year! For this 'pumpkin' soup, I did use a squash as, despite there being loads of Halloween pumpkins around, there were no other ones and my Dad said that the Halloween pumpkins don't taste as nice as the others, so we ended up with a squash, which I think was a butternut squash (I'm not 100% sure though). But, the soup was still very nice.

I stirred through some spinach and pearl barley (25g dried for every person you are serving) after serving and it was very nice in the soup. Some of my family, had bread instead or both, so you can do what you like with it. Although, I would recommend cooking the pearl barley separately to the soup so you can more easily keep an eye on it.

Lastly, any leftovers of this soup can be frozen or if there's only a little bit left, not enough for one portion, then you can add it to tomato sauces as well for a bit of extra veg and flavour. 

Enjoy!

Hazel :)

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Dietary Info:

-Gluten Free

{Make sure to serve with an appropriate carbohydrate.}

-Unsuitable for Vegetarians

{Swap out the parmesan for a vegetarian alternative like Gran Vegiano or use some nutritional yeast.}

-Unsuitable for Vegans

{See above and use a vegan margarine or butter or extra oil, in place of the butter.}

-Contains Dairy

{See above.}

-No Nuts

{Except nutmeg.}

-Main Meal

{If served with rice, bread or some other carbohydrate.}

-Starter

Prep: 20 min

Cook: 1 hr

Serves: 6 {I made this with all the same quantities of ingredients except the pumpkin / squash which was 1.3 / 1.4kg and it was enough for 4 - 5 people.}

Ingredients:

-About 1.5kg pumpkin or winter squash (eg, crown prince, sugar pumpkin, kabocha), washed {I used about 1.3kg / 1.4kg of  squash (butternut I think).}

-Oil {I used extra virgin olive oil.}

-Salt {and pepper.}

-2 litres light chicken or vegetable stock {I used about 1.5l of vegetable stock.}

-1 large red or yellow onion, peeled and chopped {I used a red onion.}

-1 celery stick, cut into small dice

-2 small carrots, peeled and cut into small dice {I used 1.5 large.}

-1 small red chilli, chopped (optional) {I used about 1/2 - 1 tbsp paprika as my sister doesn't like spicy things so I tried to make it more 'smokey' instead.}

-Sugar (optional) {This wasn't necessary for me, the squash on its own was sweet enough.} 

-2 tbsp butter (optional) {Didn't use. I think that some double cream, creme fraiche or Greek yogurt on top would be nicer; something savoury and tangy to cut through the thick, sweet-ish soup.}

-4 sage leaves, roughly torn, or the leaves from 2 thyme sprigs(optional) {I didn't use these.}

-1 handful grated parmesan, or similar (optional) {I served with grated cheddar.}

-Nutmeg (optional) {Didn't use. I also think this would make the soup overly sweet.}

Method:

1: Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan)/390°F/gas 6. Wash the pumpkin skin {Essentially, rinse the pumpkin under the tap and scrub away any dirt.}, then cut off the peel {I found it easier to cut off the top and bottom of the pumpkin first so that I had a flat base to work on. If you have a good enough peeler, use that to peel off the skin, otherwise a knife will do. Then, cut the peel into medium-size chunks (about 2").} and put that into a medium saucepan with all but a handful of the seeds and all the flesh around them.

2: Cut the pumpkin flesh into large, evenly sized cubes and put on a baking tray. {I had so much flesh I had to go onto a second baking tray. Though, when it was baking, the pumpkin shrunk considerably.} Toss with oil, season and bake for about 40 minutes, {Mine took about 30 - 35 mins.} or until soft and beginning to brown.

3: Roughly 10 minutes before the end of the pumpkin’s cooking time, add the reserved seeds, washed and tossed with oil and salt first, to the tray, but keeping the two separate. {This is not necessary, the seeds were not very enjoyable when sprinkled on top of the soup. I would suggest you just put them all in the stock.}

4: While the pumpkin is cooking, put the stock in the peelings pan, bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.

5: You can also make a start on the soup at this point. Put two tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat and add the onion, celery, carrot and a good pinch of salt. Fry, stirring regularly, until soft but not brown, then stir in the chilli, if using, and fry for another two minutes. (If this is ready before the pumpkin is roasted, take off the heat.) {I also added about tbsp of water to steam the veg a bit so it was softer, after it was cooked.}

6: Add the roast pumpkin cubes to the pan with the vegetables, reserving the seeds for later, and stir-fry until well coated in oil. {You don't need to fry the pumpkin first, as it is already oily from roasting. I just strained the stock in immediately.} Strain the stock into the pan {Put a sieve over the pan and pour in the contents of the stock saucepan, the liquid will go through while the flesh and skin will get caught.}, discarding the pumpkin trimmings, then bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

7: Puree with a stick {I used a stick.} or in a jug blender (you may wish to let it cool slightly before doing so), then taste and adjust the seasoning, adding a little sugar or diluting the soup further with water, as necessary. Keep warm.

8: If serving with browned butter, melt the butter in a small pan until it’s a rich, golden brown, then stir in the sage and tip immediately into a heatproof bowl.

9: Divide the soup between bowls and top with the nutmeg, sage butter and cheese, if using, along with the roasted seeds, and serve. {I served with cheddar cheese, spinach and an option of bread or pearl barley or both.}

 

While you're here...

I have a Pinterest for all my recipes, where you can save them to boards for the future and categorise them into different types of recipe e.g Sunday Dinners, picnic ideas etc. My account is @hazellikestocook, or find the link below. Also, I have a whole blog post explaining this in more detail here and https://hazelscookingandbakingblog.blogspot.com/2021/02/pinterest.html. 

https://pin.it/5xDvARk - my profile

This recipe:

https://pin.it/1lkmeD5