Creamy Pumpkin Soup

NUTMEG PUMPKIN

NUTMEG PUMPKIN

Pumpkins are not only usable for Halloween lanterns... At the moment Pumpkins emerge on every corner, as decoration, in the supermarket or at the farmers market, in different shapes and sizes... To prepare pumpkins in a tasty way in my opinion is not so easy. On one hand because if you buy a whole pumpkin I find it not so easy to cut him into pieces, even with really sharp knifes...And on the other hand quite often pumpkin ends up in a or too hard or too soft cooked way.... Nonetheless I have to try each year some new pumpkin recipes. One of my evergreens is this creamy pumpkin soup that I love because of its mild spicy taste and its creaminess and its recomforting, warming "action". Especially when it´s a cold, grey day... looking at the bright colour of the soup and then savouring a hot pot of it, will get you soon warmed.

I made this soup with a so called nutmeg pumpkin which I like for his mild, sligthly sweet taste.

For the soup you will need (for 3 - 4 persons)

- 600 g pumpkin cut in cubes (weight without peel and seeds..)

- 250 ml vegetable stock

- 2 onions (about 80 g), cut in cubes

- 1 crushed garlic clove

- 1 can (400g) peeled tomatoes (pomodori pelati)

- 300 ml coconut milk

- 1 tsp. salt

- 1 tsp. paprika powder

- 1/2 tsp. chili powder (or less if you like it milder or more.... )

Pepper to season and some more coconut milk to drizzle over the soup before serving

To prepare:

1. In a big pan pour the incomplete drained tomatoes, add the onions and the hot vegetable stock and cook for 8 minutes covered with a lid

2. Add the pumpkin, coconut milk, garlic and the spices and continue cooking for about 15 - 20 minutes until your pumpkin is soft (always with a lid)

3. Now mix the soup until completly smooth (the easiest way is to give the soup in a normal mixer - you might have to do it in several portions - depending on the size of your mixer - or you have a "wonder" machine as I have where you can cook the soup and mix it in the same machine... it´s really the greatest kitchen machine I´ve ever seen and bought..not the cheapiest one but taking into the account all the things one can do with her.... It is a "Thermomix TM31" from Vorwerk.... if you wanna have a look on it: http://thermomix.vorwerk.com/de/)

4. Pour the soup in your plate or bowl  and drizzle with some coconut milk and serve for example with some roasted garlic bread