For the best flavor, use fresh pumpkin in this recipe. Instructions on how to roast fresh pumpkin are included. Canned pumpkin purée also works if you need to speed things up but be sure to read the label! Buy 100% pumpkin – not pumpkin pie filling with added sugar.
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 70 mins
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 bowls
INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
One 4-pound sugar pie pumpkin
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 large or 6 medium garlic cloves, pressed or minced
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon cloves
Tiny dash of cayenne pepper (optional, if you like spice)
Freshly ground black pepper
4 cups (32 ounces) vegetable broth
½ cup full fat coconut milk or heavy cream
2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
¼ cup roasted pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup. Carefully halve the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds. Slice each pumpkin in half again to make quarters. Rub 1 tablespoon olive oil over the flesh of the pumpkin and place the quarters, cut sides down, onto the baking sheet. Roast for 35 minutes or longer, until the orange flesh is easily pierced with a fork. Set it aside to cool for a few minutes.
2. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add onion, garlic and salt. Stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. In the meantime, peel the pumpkin skin off the pumpkins and discard the skin.
3. Roughly chop the pumpkin and then add the pumpkin flesh, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cayenne pepper (if using), and a few twists of freshly ground black pepper. Pour in the broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, to give the flavors time to meld.
4. While the soup is cooking, toast the pepitas in a medium skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, golden and making little popping noises. You want them to be nice and toasty, but not burnt. Transfer pepitas to a bowl to cool.
5. Once the pumpkin mixture is done cooking, stir in the coconut milk and maple syrup. Remove the soup from heat and let it cool slightly. You can use an immersion blender to blend this soup in the pot. For the creamiest results use a blender—working in batches, transfer the contents of the pan to a blender (do not fill your blender past the maximum fill line!). Securely fasten the blender’s lid and use a kitchen towel to protect your hand from steam escaping from the top of the blender as you purée the mixture until smooth. Transfer the puréed soup to a serving bowl and repeat with the remaining batches.
6. Taste and adjust if necessary, adding more coconut milk, maple syrup, or salt if desired.
7. Ladle the soup into individual bowls. Sprinkle pepitas over the soup and serve. Let leftover soup cool completely before transferring it to a storage container and refrigerating it for up to 4 days (leftovers taste even better the next day!). Or, freeze this soup for up to 3 months.
This soup is super creamy and healthy, too. It has a gentle spice, but the pumpkin flavor shines through.
This dairy-free pumpkin soup would be a great addition to your holiday menu, but easy enough to make for an any day warming autumn dinner. It's even tastier leftover to enjoy for lunch the next day or two.
SUBSTITUTION: You can use Kabocha squash or butternut squash in this recipe instead of the pumpkin.
IF YOU WANT TO USE CANNED PUMPKIN: Instead of roasting the pumpkin, you can substitute two to three cans of pumpkin purée (15 ounces each). Just skip steps 1 and 2, and add two cans of pumpkin purée in step 4. You’ll still want to blend the soup for the best texture; add more pumpkin purée at that point if you’d like thicker soup.
HOW TO ROAST PUMPKIN SEEDS: Pick off all the flesh bits from the seeds and discard them. I like to do this in a colander under running water. Pat the seeds dry with a tea towel or paper towels. Toss the seeds with a little olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and any other seasonings that sound good, like curry or chili powder. Toss to coat. Line a small, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the pumpkin seeds in a single layer. Roast for 13 to 16 minutes, until the seeds are fragrant and toasty.
Adapted from: Cookie and Kate
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