Sunday, November 15, 2015

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

pumpkin soup, roasted pumpkin soup, soup, autumn soup, pumpkin pie spice, Fiestaware, Fiestaware peacock, Fiestaware shamrock, vintage bowl

Hi friends! Is it getting chilly in your part of the world? The cold weather is beginning to sink in here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. I shouldn't complain, though - up until now the days have been sunny and pleasant.

But now that the rain is back and the temperatures are no longer mild, it's time to get out the soup pot and make some homemade soup.  I enjoy sitting at the kitchen table, watching the birds flit in and out of my garden while I linger over a hot bowl of soup. There are sparrows, wrens, towhees, blue jays, finches, bushtits, flickers, downy woodpeckers, and starlings. But that is a story for another day. Soup is on the menu today.

And the taste of pumpkin soup, in my mind, must include pumpkin pie spice. As everyone knows, pumpkins and spice go together. Traditional pumpkin pie spice mixture is a blend of powdered cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. Considered a warming spice, pumpkin pie spice is often found not only in pumpkin pie, but also soups, stews, curries, vegetable dishes, breads, and even ice cream! 'Pumpkin everything', as the saying goes!

I pondered over several recipes both in my collection of cookbooks and on the internet, and found that I prefer a savory, rather than a sweet pumpkin soup, so there is no sugar in this recipe. I think that onions, and a pumpkin that I roasted myself, also contribute to that savory flavor I was looking for. Here is my version of this classic soup:


Roasted Pumpkin Soup

1/2 of a medium onion, diced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds roasted pumpkin, mashed
4 cups chicken broth
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
salt and pepper to taste
2-4 cups water

In a soup pot, heat olive oil and sauté the diced onions until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the roasted pumpkin and the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Combine the butter and flour, and stir it into the boiling soup. Add salt, pepper, and the pumpkin pie spice. Turn the heat down and simmer the soup for 30 minutes with a lid on half way to retain liquid, and add water as necessary, stirring occasionally. Adjust seasonings to your preference. Once your soup has your desired taste and consistency, remove from the heat and take off the lid. Let cool for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to release the steam. When cool, pureé in a blender or food processor, and return to the soup pot. Reheat the soup, and serve garnished with a pinch of pumpkin pie spice. Enjoy!

Yield: about 8-10 cups
Cooking time: about 2 hours

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