The weather here has suddenly gotten very fall like. It’s as though it took a look at the calendar, saw October and realized that the 80 degree days weren’t going to work anymore. The lower temps, and leaves starting to change got me thinking about the October I last spent in Munich. One thing that was everywhere? Kürbissuppe, also known as pumpkin soup. Almost every single restaurant we went to in Munich had Kürbissuppe on the menu. It seems the pumpkin everything trend this time of year isn’t only an American thing.
So, I decided to make some savory pumpkin soup so that I could officially mark the start of fall. (I’ve already had several iced pumpkin spice lattes though, does that count?) The local grocery store’s edible pumpkin options were primarily white pumpkins, as the rest were massively over sized decorative ones. The produce manager assured me that white pumpkin tasted as good if not better than regular pumpkin though, so I decided to give it a whirl. Apparently, white pumpkins are all the rage in the States right now. Who knew?
On to the soup… the ingredients you’ll need are:
- 8 cups white pumpkin (roughly one medium sized pumpkin)
- 4 cups vegetable stock (chicken would also work, but as an ex-vegetarian who still leans that way I prefer to keep things vegetarian friendly as often as possible)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup celery
- ¾ cup onion
- 1 cup carrots
- 6 tbsps butter
- 6 tbsps flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
Chop of all of your veggies and pumpkin. I diced the celery, carrots and onions finely.
The pumpkin I cut up into roughly 1 inch cubes. There was a lot of pumpkin.
The “meat” of the white pumpkin is much lighter than a regular orange pumpkin.
Melt the butter in the bottom of the pot. Add celery, onion and carrots and cook until the veggies start to soften.
Add the flour, and cook for 1 minute. Then add in your cinnamon, salt, allspice, nutmeg and ground clove. Combine. Then add in your 8 cups of pumpkin. Cook on low heat for 10 minutes and stir occasionally until the roux and spices cover the pumpkin, and the pumpkin has started to warm.
Then add your 4 cups of vegetable stock. Bring to a boil. Cover and then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 12 minutes stirring occasionally.Check the pumpkin to make sure its tender, if it is, you’re ready to go for the next step.
For the next step you need one of the three things: a blender, a food processor or a submersion blender. Any of these ways work, but I chose to use a food processor.
Slowly ladle the soup into the food processor in small measures, 1-2 cups at a time. Cover the processor tightly. I also used a towel to hold the lid closed. Hot liquid combined with the high speed of the processor will create a lot of excess energy and steam. Make sure you keep yourself safe first!
As I process, I put the liquefied pumpkin soup in a separate bowl or pot. When I’ve finished it all, I return it to the original pot. You should still have your pot on a simmer heat. Stir again once you have all of the pumpkin soup back in the pot to make sure its well-combined and fully processed.
Then add your cup of heavy cream. Stir thoroughly to mix the cream into the soup. Let the soup simmer for a few more minutes to let the cream fully heat thicken a bit. Taste and make sure all of the spices are to your liking. Then your soup is ready.
Serve in bowls. I like a side of bread with mine.
What’s your favorite fall comfort food?
Ingredients
- 8 cups white pumpkin
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup celery
- ¾ cup onion
- 1 cup carrots
- 6 tbsps butter
- 6 tbsps flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- Chop of all of your veggies and pumpkin. Dice the celery, carrots and onions finely. Cut the pumpkin into 1 inch cubes
- Melt the butter in the bottom of the pot. Add celery, onion and carrots and cook until the veggies start to soften.
- Add the flour, and cook for 1 minute.
- Add in your cinnamon, salt, allspice, nutmeg and ground clove.
- Then add in your 8 cups of pumpkin.
- Cook on low heat for 10 minutes and stir occasionally until the roux and spices cover the pumpkin, and the pumpkin has started to warm.
- Then add your 4 cups of vegetable stock. Bring to a boil.
- Cover and then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 12 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Check the pumpkin to make sure its tender, if it is, you’re ready to go for the next step.
- Slowly ladle the soup into the food processor in small measures, 1-2 cups at a time. Cover the processor tightly and be careful with the hot liquid - use a towel to secure lid.
- Pour soup into dishes and top with toasted pumpkin seeds or sour cream.
