Pumpkin soup is one of the most comforting foods for autumn and its' cold evenings. 🍂
As I say with most of my recipes - it is also very easy to make 😀 Also, as usual, you can find a million different variations for a certain dish so I am sharing the one that I tried but let yourself experiment and add/leave behind any spices or ingredients that don't fit you! Cooking is not only a way to nourish our bodies but also to have some fun and explore different flavors. 🌶️
So, that is why this soup was a little different for me. I found a recipe where some very autumn-like spices were added to a pumpkin soup and I have never tried it before. Those spices were cinnamon and ground cloves. 🌿
Typically, these two spices go very well with desserts, but it was very suprising to taste them in soup! And if you are looking for some new flavors this fall - give it a try!
You will need:
For about 4-5 portions
- One small/medium pumpkin (in my recipe a full, unpeeled pumpkin weighed 2 kg)
- 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
- About 1.5 l. water (you may need more if you want the soup to be more liquid)
- 2 cubes of vegetable broth (you may need less/more depending on the brand you use so check instructions on the package for how much to use per liter of water)
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 onion
- 0.5 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 0.5 teaspoon of ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon of black pepper
- 2 teaspoons of ground red pepper seasoning
- Salt to taste (if needed)
Preparation
- Wash the pumpkin, dry it and cut it into four or six parts (rough quarters).
Remove the seeds from each part.
- Brush each pumpkin piece with some olive oil (only the inner side).
- Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Place the pumpkin parts with oil in a baking tray with baking paper, put them in the oven and bake for about 45 -50 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender when poked with a fork.
- After the pumpkin is baked, leave it to cool a little and use a spoon to carve out the flesh, separating it from the peels. You can also break the flesh into smaller pieces with a spoon.
- Peel, chop and fry the onion and garlic cloves on some olive oil until soft and yellow/lightly brown (for 3-4 minutes).
- Put the pumpkin flesh in a pot for cooking, pour about 1.5 l. of water with dissolved vegetable broth cubes.
Add fried onion, garlic and all specified spices (cinnamon, ground cloves, black pepper, ground red pepper), except salt.
Mix everything, wait until the soup boils and turn off the stove (it is enough to wait only for boiling, because the pumpkin is already cooked, so you only need to heat everything).
- Blend the whole mixture with a hand blender in a pot (or another available blender) until smooth. Taste if you should add more salt.
You can also add more water if the soup is too thick or add vegan cream/milk or coconut milk.
Enjoy!
