Curried Cream of Pumpkin Soup

FYI: After this post, there will be no more pumpkins on the Homestead!  We are moving on to other things.  Drying! Canning! Tomatoes! Jalapenos! Figs! Cool weather crops! A weird present from Pa! 

Curried Cream of Pumpkin Soup with Tamari Roasted Pepitas and Chickpeas and Fresh Organic Cilantro

I had this for lunch again yesterday and it was delicious.  I love transforming my CSA haul into such useful fare!

Curried Cream of Pumpkin Soup

1 Medium Pumpkin, Roasted & Peeled 

1 Sweet Onion, Chopped

3 Cloves of Garlic

1/4 Jalapeno (no ribs or seeds) chopped

3 tsp Maharajah Curry Powder (or whatever curry you like) I like Penzeys brand.

2 tsp Poultry Seasoning (Again, Penzeys for me)

1/2 to 1 tsp Freshly Dried Sage
 *I dried my own sage, we'll do home dried herbs tomorrow!

1/2 tsp Freshly Dried Thyme (sorry, tomorrow, guys!)

1 tsp Kosher Salt

1/8 to 1/4 tsp Nutmeg

2 Tbs. Tamarind Concentrate or Fresh Lime Juice

*Your Asian market should have it.

1 can Light Coconut Milk (you can use full fat if you want)

1 Quart Veggie Stock (homemade or store bought)

Optional (to add creaminess): 1/4 cup vegan sour cream or vegan cream cheese 

Garnish with: Fresh Chopped Cilantro & Tamari Roasted Chickpeas & Pepitas 

If you haven't yet roasted your pumpkin (shame, shame!) you can roast it while you are making the soup base.  Saute the onion, garlic & jalapeno in a large pot (I use an 8 quart stock pot) over medium heat in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil until translucent, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the spices (curry through nutmeg) and stir to coat the veggies and toast 2-3 minutes longer to toast the spices.  Add the tamarind concentrate (or lime juice), coconut milk and stock and let simmer while the pumpkin is roasting. Or, if you already have a roasted pumpkin or are using *gasp* canned pumpkin (I'd say about a can if you MUST) this is about 45 minutes, but I'm sure it only needs about 30 minutes of simmering, really.  Stir occasionally, until volume is reduced by about 1/3.  Once your pumpkin is done, add the pieces to the soup base and simmer for about 10 more minutes to allow the pumpkin to infuse with the soup.

Transfer to a blender (or your VitaMix if you've got one!) in about 3 batches (since it is very hot), put a towel over the lid in case hot liquid shoots out, and blend until smooth.

Serve garnished with chopped fresh cilantro (if you like cilantro, I LOVE it), and Roasted Pepitas and Chickpeas, por supuesto (of course!).

As Jacques Pepin always says, the garnish is an integral part of the soup, it is meant to be served with it, and isn't complete until garnish is added.  Good thing you already made your garnish!  You're done.

And now, let's get out into the garden, and see what else we need to do...


Vegan Fazool is Homesteading it! October 1st through October 31st, 2012.