Pumpkin Soup
南瓜汤
In Chinese soup-making, they would never blitz a soup (and certainly not add cream). A traditional Chinese pumpkin soup would simply be to boil up cubes of pumpkin, then serve in the boiled water.
This recipe is inspired by the thick pureed soups served in the Korean barbeque restaurants of China. But I’ve always found them a bit too sweet and one-dimensional in flavour. Instead, this recipe is quite liberal with the chilli, as well as the dukkah.
I don’t make a habit of dinner-party recipes, but this is one that wows from looks and taste. For a humbler version, just omit the baby pumpkin bowls.
Serves 4.
Ingredients
For the soup:
Pumpkins or squashes – about 4 medium – deseeded
4 small pumpkins or squashes – kept whole
720ml vegetable stock
1 large onion – finely chopped
1 red chilli – finely chopped
2 garlic cloves – finely chopped
450ml milk
1 freshly grated nutmeg
3 sprigs fresh thyme
4 tablespoons double cream
butter
seasoning
For the dukkah:
150g sesame seeds
10og coriander seeds
50g pumpkin seeds
40g peppercorns
30g cumin seeds
seasalt
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 420°F. Save four pumpkins/squashes for the ‘bowls’. With the remaining pumpkins, cut in half, discard the fibres and the seeds. Continue to cut up the pumpkins until roughly cubed to about 1 inch pieces. Place in a roasting tin and drizzle with a touch of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and grate half a nutmeg over them. Toss together and roast for about 25 minutes or until tender. You may need to drop the temperature slightly if the pieces are browning too quickly.
2. Meanwhile, make the dukkah. Place all the whole seeds on a roasting tray and heat for about 5-10 minutes, just until they colour. Remove from the oven and pound all the seeds with a pestle and mortar. Season with a bit of salt. Do not over pound otherwise the mix will turn to a wet paste. Leave the dukkah a bit coarse. Set aside.
3. Next prepare the pumpkin ‘bowls’. Cut off the tops like you would a Jack O Lantern. Remove the fibres and seeds. Rub the pumpkins inside and out with oil, season the inside. Place the lids back on and place on a baking tray. Once the pumpkin wedges are cooked, swap the pumpkins over so that the whole ones are in the oven. Drop the temperature to 350°F. The pumpkin bowls will take around 45 minutes. For the last 10 minutes of cooking, remove the lids.
4. Place a large saucepan on a medium heat. Add a curl of butter. Add the onions and caramelise slowly for about 10-15 minutes. Throw in the chilli and garlic and fry for a couple of minutes. Scoop out the cooked flesh from the wedges, leaving the skin behind. Add the pumpkin flesh to the saucepan, then the vegetable stock and milk. Bring up to a simmer then season with salt, pepper, thyme and half a nutmeg. Once simmering, leave for 20/30 minutes.
5. Remove the liquid from the heat and let cool for a while. Place in a blender and pulse until smooth but not quite a puree. You may have to do this in batches. Pour the soup back into a saucepan. Once all blended, reheat on a low heat, add the cream and season to taste. Keep warm until the baby pumpkin bowls are ready.
6. Then place the bowls onto plates and ladle in the soup. Liberally sprinkle the dukkah on top and place the lids back on. The lids will keep the soup warm for quite some time. You can top the soups with yogurt, croutons, cheese, or just the dukkah.
