This recipe was given to me after a lovely Thanksgiving dinner at my friends’ place. It was one of the best soups that I’ve ever tasted, so I had to have the recipe. My friends are from the States and this was one of their family recipes. It’s a delicious, slightly spicy, curry based pumpkin soup!

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• Pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)
• 3 (15 oz) cans 100 percent pumpkin or 6 cups of chopped roasted pumpkin*
• 5 cups of chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarian option)
• 2 cups of milk
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Method

1. Melt butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add spices and stir for a minute more.
2. To make pumpkin purée, cut a sugar pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff, lie face down on a tin-foil lined baking pan. Bake at 350°F until soft, about 45 min to an hour. Cool, scoop out the flesh. Freeze whatever you don’t use for future use. Alternatively, you can also buy pre-cut pumpin and bake at 350°F until soft (about half an hour should be enough).
3. Add the pumpkin and 5 cups of chicken broth; blend well. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Transfer soup, in batches, to a blender or food processor. Cover tightly and blend until smooth. Return soup to saucepan.
5. With the soup on low heat, add brown sugar and mix. Slowly add milk while stirring to incorporate. Add cream. Adjust seasonings to taste. If a little too spicy, add more cream to cool it down. You might want to add a teaspoon of salt.
   Serve in individual bowls. Sprinkle the top of each with toasted pumpkin seeds (optional, see recipe below).

Serves 8.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe

Ingredients

• One medium sized pumpkin
• Salt
• Olive oil

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut open the pumpkin and use a strong metal spoon to scoop out the insides. Separate the seeds from the stringy core. Rinse the seeds.
2. In a small saucepan, add the seeds to water, about 2 cups of water to every half cup of seeds. Add a half tablespoon of salt for every cup of water (more if you like your seeds saltier). Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.
3. Spread about a tablespoon of olive oil over the bottom of a roasting pan. Spread the seeds out over the roasting pan, all in one layer. Bake on the top rack until the seeds begin to brown, 10-20 minutes. When browned to your satisfaction, remove from the oven and let the pan cool on a rack. Let the seeds cool all the way down before eating. Either crack to remove the inner seed (a lot of work and in my opinion, unnecessary) or eat whole.