Excellent Pumpkin Soup

Staring at the pot containing what resembled pumpkin puree, I was once again confronted with the Pumpkin Soup Dilemma (PSD): texture vs. taste. Previous attempts at making pumpkin soup turned out more like pumpkin puree because I could not bear to add water to achieve a soup-like consistency, at the expense of diluting the creamy, comforting taste of pumpkin. 

But back to staring at the pot. What liquid could I add to loosen up this glob so that it'll spoon like a soup, and still preserve that wonderful pumpkin flavour? ... Then it hit me- Pumpkin juice! 

I solved the PSD, and addition of curry leaf gave the soup a lift, keeping it interesting till the last spoonful.

Pumpkin Soup (serves 3)

1/2 a Butternut pumpkin (Butternut squash)

1/2 large onion, diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

2 pieces of star anise

1 curry leaf

1 cup water, divided into 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup

1 cup salt reduced chicken stock (or make your own)

A dash of paprika

3 Tbsp milk

3 Tbsp sour cream

1. Chop up one fifth of the halved butternut into small slices. Set aside.

2. Place the big piece skin side up onto a baking tray and roast at 180 deg c for 50 min till tender, then let cool for a while before spooning out the flesh.

The big piece just out of the oven

3. Cook carrots and onions with star anise in the soup pot till soft. Remove star anise.

4. Add the cooked pumpkin flesh, then the stock and 3/4 cup of water. Stir.

5. Put the curry leaf in whole, bringing soup to a boil. After 5 min, taste and decide if you want to leave the curry leaf in longer, if not, remove it. Take care not to over infuse, because curry leaves have a very strong smell/flavour.

6. Simmer until thickened, about 15 min.

7. In the mean time, cook the butternut slices from step 1 in a covered saucepan with 1/4 cup of water, until soft. 

8. Using an immersion blender, process the soup in the pot, then squeeze in juices from cooked butternut slices through muslin cloth or a fine sieve. 

9. Add paprika to taste and stir in 1 tbsp sour cream per bowl before serving. Optional: some freshly ground black pepper.

Serving suggestion:
Serve with crusty bread topped with pesto and cheese.

Press the blender button and hey presto, it's pesto!

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I arrived in Adelaide exactly a week ago from today. Here to visit D till end of April, then I've got to return home for my first day of work, and so begin life as a working adult!