This fall it seemed appropriate to buy a pumpkin to use for cooking.  In past years we’ve always carved one or more for Halloween, but aside from the pumpkin seeds, we wouldn’t use the rest.

It’s easy to cook them.  More involved to prep them for cooking. Still it is a lovely feeling to know you’ve used the whole pumpkin and made puree for cooking from scratch.  When you are cooking pumpkins it is suggested you get small ones, but I got a medium sized fellow.  Since it was the first time I’d cooked one, I tried it two ways.  Half was baked, covered with foil, the other half peeled and boiled until tender.

The boiled pumpkin came out a brighter color, but it is far easier to peel a pumpkin when it has baked.  Either way tastes great.  Of course, we now have a bag of pumpkin seeds for an easy snack besides.

After the cooked pumpkin had cooked, I ran it through my Ninja Master Prep Professional to puree it.  It took a couple of minutes–a record long time for the Ninja–but it came out great, as you can see in the photo below.  There was plenty of the puree, so I froze a couple of containers for future use, then reserved 3 cups for this soup.

You can make it right away if you like, but I waited until the next day to prepare mine.  Once the pumpkin is cooked and prepared, the soup only takes a minutes to fix.

As with any soup, it is quite adaptable.  Add more pumpkin or less, more seasonings or your personal favorites.  For ours I found 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne was light, so I added a total of 1/4 teaspoon.  It gives it a nice bite, but be sure to start with less.  Easy to add more if you want once you have sampled.  The chives or green onion add flavor as well. Pumpkin is a mild flavor that benefits from the added spices.

It makes for a very pretty soup to serve to your family or guests.  It was a hit at my house!

Save Print

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

Rating  5 from 1 reviews

Serves: 6 to 8

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1¼ teaspoons curry powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 cup milk
• green onion or chives, chopped fro garnish

Instructions

1. If using fresh pumpkin, cook and puree ahead of time.
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, and sauté the garlic and onions lightly brown.
3. Add the curry powder, salt, coriander, and cayenne pepper; simmer gently for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the broth and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Watch and stir during that time.
5. Add the pumpkin, stirring until smooth.
6. Stir in milk.
7. Heat over medium heat for 5 minutes on a low simmer. It should not boil.
8. Transfer the soup in batches to a blender/food processor. Process until very smooth.
9. Serve soup hot, garnished with sliced green onions, chives, or parsley.
10. Yield: 8 servings soup,

3.3.3077

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Merry Citarella, often writing as Merrci, writes on a wide range of topics. Recently relocated to the Oregon Coast in the northwest United States, she frequently writes travel features on the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She specializes in health and aging, Alzheimer’s Disease, food, lifestyle, and book reviews. For more information you can see her on The Writers’Door. You can read more articles here or at her websites Mystery Suspense Reviews .