I was feeling in the mood for some pumpkin soup the other day, so I did what I usually do if I am not sure of a recipe - I googled it, then combined what I liked best about each recipe into a new one of my own. I was looking at Asian soup recipes and if I didn't have the ingredients they asked for (or didn't know what they were!) I improvised. The resulting soup was so good!
I put all these ingredients in my vitamix (I used the canned pumpkin and sweet potatoes just because I didn't have fresh) then blended. A vitamix will cook the ingredients right in the container, but if you do not have one, place all the ingredients in a sauce pan and blend after it is all heat through, or if you are using fresh pumpkin and sweet potatoes, you have to cook them through before you do any blending, obviously. See below for the best way to cook fresh pumpkin.
5 cups chicken broth
3 cups cubed and peeled pumpkin, or one 15 oz can pumpkin
2 sweet potatoes cubed and peeled, or one 15 oz can sweet potatoes, drained
1/2 of a 15 oz can coconut cream (Not coconut milk, get the one with the least amount of sugar)
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
2 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger - use fresh! You can get it in tubes if you want.
1/2 tsp dried onion powder (or saute some fresh onions - I think I used fresh?)
Dash of dried garlic powder
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoons lime juice
1/8 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup of fresh basil (don't leave this out, it is awesome)
If you are making this in a pot, simmer until all the pumpkin and sweet potatoes are tender, then blend and serve. Makes about 8 cups of soup.
It is so delicious! This does not taste like pumpkin pie! The sweetness combined with the ginger, basil, lime, and spices - just great! Everybody loved this soup, even the doubters : ) Hope you enjoy!
Here's how to cook fresh pumpkin easily. Using a sharp, heavy knife, chopped the pumpkin into large chunks very carefully. Use a spoon to scrap out all the seeds and membrane. Steam the pumpkin chunks, with the rind still on, for about 30-40 minutes until it is very soft. Wait until the chunks are cool enough to handle, then use a spoon to scrape the cooked flesh away from the rinds. It's messy, but easier then trying to peel a fresh (hard) pumpkin. We cook all large squash varieties this way too.
