Oh, my goodness, I absolutely love pumpkin soup. The silky, rich consistency just hits the spot especially on a chilly Autumn evening or in the very midst of Winter bleakness. It is especially tasty if you have made it from a plumpciously juicy fresh pumpkin, harvested that season, rather than from the tins.
Now, I collect and store the flesh of my pumpkins several ways. Because I grow mine on the allotment, I have greater choice of variety but I will use any pumpkin as I generally end up buying them from pumpkin patches and food shops, too. I always end up with SO many but I love pumpkin and it truly is a seasonal veg, impossible to get hold of any other time of the year.
If I am making jack o’ lanterns, then I use an ice cream scoop and scrape the flesh out of the shell of the pumpkin after it has been gutted. The more flesh you remove from the inside, the more the outer shell glows when you add the candle so it is an aesthetic choice for me as much as a greedy choice.
I pop the scooped flesh on a lined baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and pop into a 200C/425F for about half an hour. It should be fork tender when you remove it. This is delicious as a side dish with seasonings, of course. Or you can use it for soup or pie (minus the S&P) or, once cooled, popped into a freezer bag and into the freezer for storing up to 6 months or so. I process a lot of my pumpkins this way because I make A LOT of jack o’ lanterns every year.
Now, the other way you can process the pumpkin is to cut it up into manageable wedges, shell and all. Of course, remove the stringy bits and the seeds (save the seeds for roasting). Smaller pumpkins can just be cut in half. Again, drizzle with olive oil, and season the flesh and pop on a lined baking tray, flesh side up. Roast at 200C/425F for about half an hour until fork tender. Once cool, the flesh will separate from the skin very easily and you can either use in your recipe or freeze. I don’t tend to puree the flesh for freezing because it makes it harder to remove from the freezer bags. I just do that once I defrost. You can certainly bottle/can pumpkin but I don’t tend to do it. I usually freeze excess veg and fruit and can/bottle recipes like sauces, salsas, chutneys, jams, etc. That’s just my way of doing things.
Pumpkin soup recipe
Use about 1 ½ to 2kg of pumpkin (3 ½ to 4lbs), this includes the skins. If you have a smaller pumpkin (usually smaller pumpkins are sweeter, especially if it is a variety especially for soups and pies like Crown Prince or Uchiki Kuri), you can just cut in half or quarters. Honestly, I use any and every pumpkin and do not discriminate but I suppose, if I was specifically cooking and had a choice, I’d go for one of those. Cut into chunky wedges and de-seed, place skin side down on the lined baking tray.
Hand crush about 2 garlic cloves with eh back of a wide knife for each wedge and lay on the wedge or chuck into the little pumpkin bowl. Again, you are thinking about protection and healing magic for whomever eats your soup. Add a sprig of fresh rosemary to honour the ancestors. Also, remember that rosemary is a powerful herbal ally and can pretty much stand in for any other herb so think about your magical intention here. It also increases mental perception and psychic awareness which is perfect for Samhain. Drizzle with olive oil, focusing on the olive’s ability to provide peace and harmony (amazing for family dinners!). Roast at 200C/425F for about half an hour or 45 minutes until tender.
In the meantime, sautee one large chopped onion in olive oil. Onions for protection and healing!
Into a large bowl, pop your roasted pumpkin flesh (not the skins!), the roasted garlic cloves and rosemary (make sure you remove the stem). Add the sauteed onions and salt and pepper. Blend with chicken or veg stock (about 1 litre or 4 cups) until creamy and at your desired consistency. Don’t use all of the stock if you prefer not too and please, please do not use water or milk. I like it rich and velvety but still, loose enough to slide off the spoon.
You can stick blend this or pop into a blender.
Now, I’ve always made pumpkin soup like this and drizzled with a bit of cream when I plate it up and it is delicious. But if you want to elevate it to the next level, I now tweak at the end with a Gordon Ramsay trick or two and honestly, that’s why he’s the celebrity chef.
As you are heating theroasted pumpkin, sauteed onions, garlic and stock together, add some heavy cream, some butter, a grate or two of nutmeg, and some parmesan cheese and oh, my word! You will soar to new heights. He adds sauteed wild mushrooms to his when serving, as well which IS delicious but I like to add a sprinkle of roasted pumpkin seed to mine. I do freeze this soup in individual soup cups when I have any extra.
The Illuminated Pathway 