Exotic Roasted Pumpkin Soup

It all started when my daughter recently charmed me into removing the seeds for toasting from their Halloween pumpkin.  (She has loved toasted pumpkin seeds since childhood.)  Well, as you know, I first had to cut the pumpkin...it was about 15 lbs.!  Then, once I got it open, naturally it only made sense to roast it.

It's actually easy to roast a pumpkin:  Once you've washed and cut it in half, remove the pulp and seeds.  Place the  pumpkin halves in a baking pan with the skin side up.  Add and keep about 1" of water in the pan. Roast at 400º until tender, or easily pierced with a carving fork.  Their 15 lb. pumpkin took about one hour per half to roast.  (Since their pumpkin was so large, we could only fit half of it in the oven at a time.)  For yummy toasted seeds, try this site: sugar and spice pumpkin seeds.

So, what do you do with that roasted pumpkin?  I know you'll love this enticing  pumpkin soup collaboration between daughter and mother.  In our adaptation of this recipe from Epicurious, we omitted a few of the spices because we felt they were unnecessary, duplicated flavors.
 
So, Charlie Brown, here's our tribute to The Great Pumpkin and just in time for Thanksgiving!

                                  Add A Little Spice To Your Life...

                    
                                      And You'll Be Thankful!

As Adapted from Epicurious

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 TB butter
• 3/4 c. chopped carrots (use baby carrots to keep it easy)*
• 3/4 c. chopped celery*
• 3/4 c. chopped ripe banana (about 1 large)*
• 1/2 c. chopped white onion (frozen is fine)*
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 5 c. low-salt chicken broth
• 4 c. approx. 1/2" cubed roasted fresh pumpkin (or 2 c. canned pure pumpkin)
• 3/4 c. canned unsweetened coconut milk
• 1/4 c. sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/16th tsp. (pinch) ground sage
• 1/4 tsp. yellow curry powder
• table salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

*Use a medium chop on these ingredients.

Garnish options for each serving:  mint sprig (as shown in the photo above), basil leaf, parsley sprig, dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream

    

Directions

1. Melt the butter in an approximate 5 to 6 quart soup pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add the carrot and the next 6 ingredients and saute, stirring frequently, for about 10+ minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
3. Discard the bay leaf.  Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.  Return the mixture to the pot.  Add the broth and all the remaining ingredients.
4. Boil the soup over medium-high heat 15 minutes to blend the flavors.  Cool slightly.
5. Working in batches, pour the soup into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.  Return the soup to the pot.  (Or, use an immersion blender directly in the pot.)
6. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.  (Can be made one day ahead and kept in the refrigerator.  Also freezes well in batches.  I suggest you could freeze up to three months.)
7. Bring soup to a simmer.  Serve in individual bowls and garnish as above.

Add a little spice to your Thanksgiving with this exotic pumpkin soup and enjoy!  Gobble, Gobble!


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