Curried Pumpkin Soup

Curried dishes run the gamut from sweet to hot with sweet-hot somewhere on the continuum. Curry powders vary greatly as well. Find one you like and stick with it. Nothing is more disappointing than picking up a container from the grocery store shelf only to find it greatly lacking in flavor when you apply it to dinner.

This curried pumpkin soup is almost sweet because of the naturally occurring sugar in the pumpkin and because of the slightly sweet undertones that come with coconut milk. This soup is subtle and satisfying, creamy and rich, with garlic, curry powder and cilantro as a finishing touch. The recipe is adapted from The Roasted Vegetable by Andrea Chesman

This recipe is an example of a pureed soup as described in our free course on broth- and soup-making on Facebook.

Serves 4.

Curried Pumpkin Soup Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups puree of pumpkin or winter squash

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 finely minced garlic cloves
• 2 cups vegetable or bone broth
• 2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
• Salt or fish sauce, to taste
• Minced cilantro for garnish and flavor

Curried Pumpkin Soup Steps

1. Heat the oil in a heavy soup pan, medium-low heat.

2. Add the curry, ginger, cumin and red pepper flakes.
3. Stir for a couple of minutes while the seasonings roast and become fragrant. Do not walk away! They can burn in a flash and you will have to start over. Add the garlic and stir for a moment. Do not let the garlic brown. The flavor will overpower this delicate soup if you do.
4. Pour the broth into the spice mixture and stir well. Loosen anything that may be sticking to the bottom of the pot.
5. Put the pumpkin puree in the blender and add the soup stock. It should just fit. Blend well.
6. Warm the coconut milk in the soup pan and then add the blended pumpkin and soup stock. Salt with fish sauce or sea salt according to your own taste.
7. Serve with a sprinkling of finely minces cilantro on the top. The green of the cilantro sparkles against the orange hue of the soup. It also adds a subtle earthy quality.

Make a meal of this soup with a crispy green salad tossed with a vinaigrette and hot from the oven sourdough bread.

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