Pumpkin Soup in Pumpkin Bowl

Fall Flavours: Roasted Pumpkin Soup in Pumpkin Soup Bowl, served with Pumpkin Toast

With Halloween just around the corner, I’m glad this pumpkin soup (and the adorable pumpkin soup bowl it’s contained in) gets to make its starry (hopefully not scary) appearance on my blog before Halloween, hehe.  Roasting the pumpkins before putting them in the soup really draws out their natural sweet flavours (process of cameralization), and I adore the taste of natural sweetness over sugar sweetness. This recipe is really flexible because I actually made two versions with it – one which is chunkier (almost gravy like) for B who prefers chunky soups, and one version which is creamier and smoother (think cream of chicken type of consistency) for me. With the basic puree, you can adjust the stock and cream to achieve the consistency that you like.

I saw mini pumpkins being sold at Vivomart (and selected Cold Storage, Jasons outlets) and I purchased one for photography purposes. The cheapest I saw so far was S$3 each (at Vivomart) but my friend told me that nearing Halloween (which is now I guess) the prices may be slashed  further as the supermarkets try to clear the leftovers. I’m going to check out the supermarkets tonight and hope I get lucky

Happy Halloween!

A close up

Ingredients
(Serves 4)

- 500g pumpkin flesh, cut to small chunks
- chicken broth/vegetable broth (600ml for thick, chunky soup, at least 800ml or more for creamier, more watery consistency – see cooking note 1)
- 2 sprigs of rosemary leaves, chopped finely
- 1 large white/yellow onion
- 8 cloves garlic, peeled
- 30g butter
- extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
- 1/4 cup of thickened cream (the one I used contained 35% milk fat)
- 2 tbsp white wine (optional)
- cinnamon or nutmeg powder (garnishing)

Directions

1. Arrange pumpkin chunks in a single layer on roasting tray with the garlic and drizzle liberal amounts of extra virgin olive oil till pumpkin pieces & garlic cloves are well coated in the oil. Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle chopped rosemary over.
2. Roast pumpkin in preheated oven of 200C (400F) for 30 minutes till they are soft (if you like, you can turn them over after 20 minutes for a more even cooking).
3. Melt butter in heated pan then cook onions over gentle flame till the onions have just started to caramelised (soft, translucent, shrunken). This takes about 4 minutes or so.
4. Add the stock, followed by the roasted pumpkin and garlic, then bring to a boil. Simmer with lid on for another 10 minutes, then off the flame. The pumpkin pieces should be really sweet and tender by now.
5. Process the soup in batches using either a blender or food processor till smooth (see cooking note 3). At this point you can add more broth to get the right consistency you like.
6. Return the soup to the saucepan and stir in the wine & cream and season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Warm through, without boiling. Ladle into bowls and garnish with a few drops (or swirls) of cream and cinnamon/nutmeg. Serve with toast.

Pumpkin Toast (cooking note 3)

Cooking Notes

1. This recipe is very flexible. With the thick pumpkin puree, you can adjust the thickness of the soup based on your preference. For instance, if you like a chunkier soup, you can use lesser stock or even omit the cream. Likewise, for a more watery/creamier consistency, add more broth or cream accordingly.
2. To make pumpkin soup bowls, get mini pumpkins, carefully cut off the top, use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and strings, and use a paring knife to scoop out the flesh out all round. I’m sure you can do this better than my shoddy workmanship hehe
3. You may reserve some of the thick puree (step 5) to spread over baguette to make delicious pumpkin toast (pictured).
4. You can substitute rosemary with sage or thyme as you like.

More pumpkin deliciousness:

- Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin Chawanmushi
- Steamed Tofu with Pumpkin, Prawns & Ebikko
- Pumpkin Rice

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Tagged as: garlic, onion, pumpkin, rosemary, wine