Pumpkin Soup

One of my favourite soups has got to be Pumpkin Soup. It perfect for a cold winter’s day, but let’s face it, it’s so yummy you could eat any time of year.

Its hard to buy pumpkins here in Mexico, so when we can (mostly around Halloween), I usually stock up and make batches of Pumpkin Soup, and then freeze it and try to ration it out so we can enjoy it for more than a few days. It rarely works, because once I know its in the freezer, I can’t help but crave it. I love the rich orange colour of the soup and the thick texture of it. A chunk of crusty toasted French baguette to dip in and you have a filling easy meal.

The recipe I use is a really simple one taken from a Woman’s Weekly cookbook. As well as the regular range of cookbooks (of which I have many), they have this great series of mini cookbooks on fairly specific topics. I’m pretty sure this comes out of the one called Soups. Figures. I always use butternut pumpkins if I can. I think they have a smoother, milder flavour. Plus they are so much easier to cut up. Sometimes I add a bit of cumin (maybe a teaspoon or 2. Depends on how much you like cumin!) if I feel like a change.

Pumpkin Soup

40g butter
1 large brown onion (200g), chopped coarsely
1.5kg pumpkins, chopped coarsely
2 large (600g) potatoes, chopped coarsely
6 cups (1.5 litres) chicken stock
½ cup (125ml) cream

Melt butter in large saucepan; cook onion, stirring, until soft. Stir in pumpkin and potato; cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Stir in stock, bring to a boil. reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, about 20 minutes or until pumpkin is soft, stirring occasionally.

Blend or process soup, in batches, until pureed; push through sieve into a large clean saucepan. Just before serving, add cream; stir over heat until soup is hot. Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream and chives, if desired.