PUMPKIN soup is a favourite for many families and roasting the pieces first takes away the sore hands of peeling.
THE last of the pumpkins should now be ready for storing if you grew them this year. If not, now’s a good time while supply is still keeping the prices down.
One of my favourite recipes is creamy pumpkin soup – and making enough to be able to freeze plenty for later when winter bites.
There’s no hard and fast rules here as to which pumpkin makes the best soup – although buttercup is regarded by many of the older generation as the best.
I’ve used whatever is on hand, knowing the big crown pumpkins will give me everything I need for freezing.
The trick is in the roasting first – this means the aching hands from peeling are simply gone. And, I believe, it tastes better anyway. I like to add the taste of herbs onto the oiled pumpkin before I roast – these can be anything from a mix of lemon pepper, garlic granules, tarragon or whatever else you like.
Ingredients:
One pumpkin, cut into manageable pieces
Two medium onions finely chopped
Two cloves of minced garlic
One tsp salt
One tsp black pepper
One litre of vegetable stock (chicken stock will do if you don’t have that)
¼ tsp nutmeg
One tbs dried tarragon
Olive oil, both for roasting and for the onion
One dsp butter
200ml cream
Sour cream to taste
Method
Into a bowl, toss a couple of tablespoons of olive oil onto the pumpkin, add the herbs as described in the paragraph above if you choose, and mix well.
On a sheet of baking paper, lay the pumpkin pieces out and cook in a preheated oven until pumpkin is soft, around 30 minutes or so, at 180C.
Pull out and skin the pumpkin, putting it aside after giving the pulp a quick mash with the butter.
Meanwhile, in a large, heavy bottomed stockpot, pour in 2 tbs oil, add garlic and onions and stirring frequently, cook until soft.
Add in the pumpkin pulp, stirring well, along with the stock, (add more if the pumpkin is a large one) nutmeg and tarragon, salt and pepper.
Cook for about 10 minutes on a low to medium heat, making sure the pulp is becoming smoother – use a stick blender if you need to.
Add in the cream and cook for a further five minutes. (Cream in a soup will freeze alright).
If the soup is too thick, add more stock at any time.
It is at this time I divide the soup into what I will use straight away and what I will freeze.
I pour the freezing segment into ziplock sandwich bags and seal, before laying flat ready for freezing when cool.
I generally prefer the soup to be thicker for freezing.
For eating straight away, add a tsp of sour cream per plate and serve with warm, crusty bread.
