By Diane
Do you like pumpkins? I have been reading stories and etymology of this vegetable and how versatile is in cooking. You can eat most of its parts, leaves, flowers, and seeds too; based on the region. For example, if you are in the North American regions, pumpkin is used for purée or mashed and even to make pies. In Europe, it will be used mashed and some in Asia, they mainly roast it with other veggies and is eaten as a side meal. In some African countries, is cooked as a vegetable integrated with beans or potatoes. Others will use the leaves to garnish their meals for example.
Pumpkin seeds are toasted and used as a snack in some of the middle Eastern countries and in Europe too. I have tried the seeds, but I am not a big fan, however, I prefer the pumpkin itself for my soup or risotto and sometimes I have used it for pasta sauce. Depending on the type of pumpkin you have, some are more watery than others which can change the texture of your meal.
I tried to identify the most common pumpkin in my region, and still there where a ton of names. However, if making a soup and after blending it, it is more liquid and you wanted it creamier, add 2 spoons of potato flour or 1 spoon of flour mixed in ¼ of a glass of water. Today, I will suggest to you my recipe of a creamy soup of pumpkin, easy to make and light and
savoury.
- 300gr of pumpkin
- 3 medium potatoes
- 2 carrots
- 1 glove of garlic
- 1 celery stalk
- ½ onion
- 100 ml of fresh cream
- Salt & pepper
- Olive oil
- 1 L of water more or less
Mince the onion, celery stalk, and garlic and leave them aside. Clean and chop the pumpkin in some medium cubes, peel and chop the potato and carrot in cubes as well. In a saucepan, add some olive oil to stir fry the onion, celery, and glove, when they are a bit tan, add the carrots, and stir for a few minutes then add the pumpkin and potatoes. Let it be yellowish before adding water. Salt and pepper as you wish and like. Let cook for about 10-15mn depending on how big or small you cut the veggies. Some like to add the stock, so feel free to do it if you like it. I use it sometimes but not often unless I did it myself. When all the veggies are cooked remove it from the fire, blend it as much as you can. You get a creamy texture then add back on the strove for some more minutes. Most of the time, at this moment you will see if your blended soup is more liquid or not and you may decide to add some 1 spoon of flour to make it thicker. When it is nearly boiling again, I add the fresh cream. You will see your soup having a brighter orange colour. Your soup is ready, serve it warm and if you want you can add some crostini and Enjoy it.
