Pumpkin soup with vegetables

This pumpkin soup is one of my favorites to enjoy in autumn. It warms not only your body but also your soul and gives you a boost of vitamins. I make my pumpkin soup with vegetables and no broth. By using a lot of veggies, you can skip the broth. It’s simply natural, delicious and so easy to make!

I got the pumpkin directly from my garden so it was bigger than the ones in the supermarket (about 2,2kg). So I split it in half and made 2 types of soup: the vegetarian pumpkin soup with vegetables (recipe below) and the vegan pumpkin soup with vegetables where I replaced the cream with cocos milk and added fresh ginger.

Ingredients for about 4-6 servings:

• 1-1,2 kg Hokkaido pumpkin (before removing the seeds)
• 1/4 celery root (~200-250 gr)
• 2-3 carrots (~200-250 gr)
• 2-3 potatoes (~200-250 gr)
• 2 onions (~ 200-250 gr)
• 200-250 gr cream
• 1-2 garlic cloves
• 2-3 tbsp vegetable oil for frying
• 1 tsp curry powder or paste (optional)
• salt, pepper
• a pinch of nutmeg powder
• ~1-1,5l water

Garnish (optional):

• pumpkin seed oil
• roasted pumpkin seeds (or sunflower seeds)

Instructions:

1. Cut the pumpkin and remove the seeds. Don’t peel it! If the peel has big imperfections, just remove those spots with a knife. The peel will give a nice color to the soup.
2. Cut the veggies in big cubes.
   
3. Add oil in a pot and fry the veggies till they get soft. Add a teaspoon of curry powder to the hot oil if you like it and salt and pepper. You can also use curry paste. Do not brown the veggies! It may take about 7-8 minutes.
   
4. When the veggies are soft add water to cover them. Boil them until they are soft (about 20 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces). You can check this by trying to crush a piece between the spoon and the side of the pot. If it’s easily crushed, they are done.
   
5. Add the cream and nutmeg and puree the veggies. If you don’t have a hand blender, you can use a potato crusher or a sieve.
   
6. Check the consistency of the soup: if it’s too thick, add a little bit of water. If it’s too liquid, boil it a little longer.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
   
8. Garnish with pumpkin seed oil and roasted pumpkin/sunflower seeds. You can easily roast the seeds in an empty pan with no oil or salt.
   
9. You can keep the soup in the fridge for up to 3 days. This pumpkin soup is great for freezing so you can enjoy a hot coup of soup anytime you feel like it.