Roasted Pumpkin Soup

I felt like trying a more savory pumpkin soup. I used Jamie Oliver’s Glorious Roasted Pumpkin Soup as my inspiration, but I don’t know if it was my tastebuds or that fact that I’m not very good at following somebody else’s recipe, but it didn’t have much flavor.

*Ingredients*

• 1-Small pumpkin (about 1-1.5 kg)
• 1-tsp Ground chipotle pepper seasoning
• 1-Tb Coriander seeds
• 1-Large red onion
• 1-Carrot, peeled
• 2-3-Tb maple syrup (or 1/2 of an apple, peeled and diced)
• 1-Tb Apple cider vinegar
• 1-Large stick of celery
• 1-Liter of water
• Olive oil
• Several leaves of fresh coriander, torn up into small pieces
• Pinch of salt
• Black pepper

*Method* 

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 170°C/340°F.

Step 2: Wash and cut the pumpkin in half. Using a spoon, scrape the seeds and guts out. Set them aside because you will roast the seeds later. Cut the pumpkin into wedges and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle a little olive oil over the pumpkin.

Step 3: Combine the coriander, a pinch of salt, chipotle pepper, and some black pepper. Grind up together the spices into a rough powder and sprinkle over the pumpkin wedges.

Step 4: Bake for 50-60 minutes. The pumpkin wedges should be soft and turning golden brown, but not burnt.

Step 5: While the pumpkin bakes, bring the liter of water to a boil.

Step 6: Roughly chop the onion, celery, and carrot. Add the vegetables to boiling water along with a teaspoon of olive oil, 5-8 cranks of fresh cracked pepper and a pinch of salt. This stock will be the base of your soup.

Step 7: When the pumpkin has finished cooking allow it to cool for 5 minutes and, add it to your blender along with all the vegetables from the broth and about half of the vegetable stock liquid. When the pumpkin has been mixed a bit, you can add more of the vegetable stock liquid, sweetener (maple syrup or apple) to get the soup to your preferred smoothness and texture. Note: I prefer thick soup to thin soup so I didn’t end up using all the broth.

Step 8: Serve in bowls and sprinkle the coriander leaves on top.

This recipe makes 4-5 bowls of soup. I served this with a salad and cheese plate.