Pumpkin Creamy Soup

Autumn is officially there when you make the first pumpkin soup in the year. Or the first pumpkin cupcakes. Or the first pumpkin [insert recipe here]. And then you start counting the days until Halloween. I was never a big fan of Halloween because there were no Halloween celebrations when I was a kid and I cannot even remember if we were going to Halloween parties during my student years. But things change when you have a kid who watches Casper the friendly ghost and wants to see every single Halloween show on Earth. We will even carve a pumpkin this year. So if you start getting into the autumn mood and you haven’t had a fresh pumpkin soup this year, here’s a super easy recipe that will also save you during the busy week when you’re out of ideas for dinner. And if you wonder about the difference between pumpkin, squash and the other fifty shades of orange out there, you can check this article that explains everything.

Ingredients

500 g butternut squash or any other winter squash

1 large onion

2 cloves of garlic

2-3 carrots

2-3 tomatoes

3 celery stalks

1.5 l chicken stock

1 bouquet garni (2 bay leaves, thyme, parsley)

Salt

Optional (when serving)

Cream

Croutons

Pumpkin seeds

Parsley leaves

Preparation

Step 1

Cut the squash in two, clean the inside, peel and cut into small cubes. Chop the onion and garlic, not too small because it will get blended at the end anyway. Add a bit of neutral oil in the pot where you’re going to cook the soup. When the oil is hot, add the onion, cover, and let it sweat until you chopped all the other vegetables. I learned this tip from Samin Nosrat’s book, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. Soups and pot dishes get a lot more flavour if you let the onions sweat for to 30 minutes, as long as they don’t get brown…

Step 2

Bring a pot of water to boil. Cut a cross on top of the tomatoes and sink them into the boiling water for about 2 minutes or until you can peel them. Warm the chicken stock so it gets to the boiling point by the time you are ready with all the chopping.

Step 3

Chop the tomatoes, carrots and celery in cubes. Add them to the pot. Then add the chicken stock and still some water if you prefer the soup more liquid. I always like it thicker, more like a velouté. Add salt and a bouquet garni and let it cook for about one hour, until all the vegetables are soft and easy to blend.

Step 4

Remove the bouquet garni and blend everything until you get a smooth creamy soup.

Step 5

Serve with additional cream, croutons and decorate with parsley leaves and pumpkin seeds. Bon appétit!