Soup Stories #4: Pumpkin Soup / かぼちゃのスープ

Pumpkin soup became a must eat for me in autumn and winter after I moved to Germany.

I know pumpkins are harvested in autumn but they are always available in Japan so I was not much aware of the pumpkin season. On the contrary, I don't see many pumpkins in spring and summer in Germany. (same for asparagus!). Once I saw them at an organic store saying they were from Argentina, I felt really strange.

I forgot to take a photo but I got a really nice pumpkin from a young organic farmer at a local market where I have my stand every two weeks. Then I couldn't help making pumpkin soup 😊

Maybe everyone has their own recipe for pumpkin soup. My secret is to add ginger. I make the soup quite flexibly but here is a brief recipe:

Mince garlic and ginger, and cut onion, carrot, pumpkin. Carrot is not a must. Combine the veggies you feel like!
Melt butter in a pot and sauté garlic, ginger, onion, and carrot.
Sprinkle a pinch of salt and sauté until onions are translucent.
Add pumpkin and steam with a little amount of white wine.
Add water until it covers the vegetables and cook until the vegetables are soft enough.
Make the soup smooth with a blender.
Add milk or heavy cream and adjust the taste with salt and pepper.

That's it!

To make the soup a bit more exotic, I recommend to sauté vegetables with Ras El Hanout or to add coconut milk instead of cow milk. But for winter, I like the German style butter & cream pumpkin soup.

Happy soup cooking & eating 😊

Soup Stories Series

ドイツに移ってから、秋冬になると季節の風物詩のように必ずかぼちゃのスープを食べるようになりました。

かぼちゃが秋に収穫されることは知っていましたが、日本ではいつでも手に入るので、あまりかぼちゃの季節を意識していませんでした。逆にドイツでは春から夏にかけてかぼちゃをほとんど見かけません(アスパラガスも同じです）。一度、オーガニックショップでアルゼンチン産のかぼちゃを見たときには、本当に不思議な気持ちになりました。

写真を撮り忘れましたが、2週間に1度出店している地元のマーケットで、若いオーガニック農家からとても素敵なかぼちゃをいただき、かぼちゃのスープを作らずにはいられませんでした。

パンプキンスープのレシピは人それぞれかもしれません。私がする特別なことといえば、生姜を入れることです。いつもかなり適当に冷蔵庫にあるものを使って作っていますが、簡単なレシピを紹介します。