I just got back from a trip to Curacao and one of the things I had several times was this amazing pumpkin soup. It was really thick–almost pudding-like and it was yellow. I also had a runnier orange pumpkin soup that wasn’t nearly as good.
Does anyone know how to make this amazing pumpkin soup? It had almost a …grittiness? to it? Kind of like cream of wheat.
I’ve had pumpkin soup, but from more of an Italian, squash based direction.
Here’s a recipe from RecipeZaar for “West Indian” pumpkin soup, which may have a similar flavor and texture to what you had in Curacao. It looks yummy to me, but I’ve never prepared it, so can’t vouch for it…
Thanks, I’ll check it out. Looks like I’d just have to substitute out the chicken broth and I’d be set…
I still haven’t tried the recipe that xenophon41 posted, but now that I’ve found the thread again I’m going to give it a shot. Soon. I’ve put the ingredients on my shopping list, in fact.
I figured with “pumpkin season” in swing that maybe other people might have other recipes as well, so I’m bumping my own thread.
Anyone have a good pumpkin soup recipe?
I haven’t tried this recipe, but I love Korean pumpkin porridge (호박죽). It sounds exactly like what you described. I just had some over Thanksgiving actually. My mom made it from a pumpkin she picked up at the local Food Lion.
One important thing that I feel is worth pointing out, Opal, is that the Pumpkin used in the Curacaoian Pumpkin Soup that you enjoyed was very probably West Indian Pumpkin or Calabaza (Cucurbita Moschata). Which are actually Green Gourds with a bright orange flesh and are truly savory eating pumpkins and, from what I understand (never tasted it), is quite substantially different in flavor and sometimes color from American Pumpkin. In something as simple as Pumpkin soup I would imagine the authentic ingredients make a huge difference, so you might very well be able to approximate it with American Pumpkin which are mostly bred for pies and desserts and Ornamentation, but something probably just won’t be the same as your vacation delicacy (but then what ever is as good as your first fresh kiss of exotic flavors in-country?). When I look at trying to capture exotic tastes and the produce isn’t locally available I usually just say hell with it and use the best commonly available produce to the area and adapt it to the recipe. So, if the calabaza isn’t available to you (although it might be, if there is a local Caribbean, Jamaican or Cuban, etc, population or market) I would probably just go ahead and use the best local eating squash bred for purpose, and that would be the butternut for me (Might be able to get a Kobocha, but still not the most accessible).
I’m not really sure if “Curaçaoian” is the correct demonyn. Looked for it online and in Websters but haven’t been able to find the answer. Perhaps you know what people from Curaçao are called, Opal? (Besides Dutch 
)
I have a question… I was hoping to make this tonight, so I hope someone can answer it sooner rather than later… Ok the steps for the recipe are:
Peel and chop the onions, and peel and mince the garlic.
2
Brown the onions in the butter, and stir in the garlic.
3
Add the pumpkin and broth and bring to a simmer.
4
Add the bay leaves, celery in large chunks, marjoram, parsley and chives.
5
Simmer until tender, about 45 minutes.
6
Remove the pumpkin pieces and set aside.
7
Press everything else through a strainer, and discard all solids.
8
Puree the pumpkin and return it to the soup.
9
Add the cinnamon and cream.
10
Reheat and serve.
11
If you already have pureed cooked pumpkin, simmer the seasonings in the broth for 30 minutes, then strain it as described above.
12
Add the pumpkin and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes more before adding the cinnamon and cream.
13
Use 3 cups pureed pumpkin.
So I see after examining the recipe further that it says to use 3 cups of pureed pumpkin (which is the canned stuff I bought, I assume–and yes, I made sure it wasn’t the pie filling).
The step I’m confused about is #7: Press everything else through a strainer, and discard all solids.
I hope I don’t sound too stupid (my mom didn’t cook, so I never got the basics at home) but how do I do that? To me a “strainer” is a colander, but I don’t know how you would “press” something through one… do they mean something else? Can someone explain, as if to a child, what it is they want me to do here?
Sorry if I sound dense. 
They mean to push it through a fine mesh strainer like this one. It will end up processing the solids finely and making for a very smooth soup. If you don’t have one, I wouldn’t sweat it… nor would I buy one especially for this, instead I would just follow the steps and dump everything, including the canned or fresh pumpkin in a food processor or blender and puree till smooth. Simple as that. (Of course, Take out the bayleaves and any woody marjoram stems if you are using fresh)
So you think sifting out the solids with a colander is ok?
Side question: I don’t have bay leaves, I have ground bay leaves–that is, not meant to be removed but rather a powder that you sprinkle in. The recipe calls for “3 bay leaves” (which are then removed)… how much ground bay leaf should I be adding to get the equivalent flavor?
Pressing the food through a colander won’t produce the granularity you’d get using a strainer or food mill. I’d process the mixture some more with a blender (stick or stand) or other food processor.
Be careful not to overdose. If your powder is relatively fresh, a pinch should add all the bitter bay flavor you need. (Let’s say 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon.) And since it’s not whole leaves, you can’t pull it back out!
PS: Let us know how this goes! I forgot about this recipe before I got around to trying it…
No, simply “sifting out the solids” like the celery and onions and garlic parsley and chives with a collander would lose the flavor of those ingredients. When you push and pulverize those ingredients through a fine mesh strainer some of it goes through, but it leaves the fibrous solids… that refinement is not worth the hit you will take in flavor, and it will all go quite smooth if you process or blend it well enough anyway, plus it’s added dietary fiber that is quite good for you.
I’m not sure about ground bayleaves, but I imagine they are quite strong in comparison to whole bayleaves, so I’m thinking a very small amount (definitely less than 1/2 teaspoon maybe an 1/8 to a 1/4 teaspoon?) would do, or you will overwhelm the flavor of the soup. But again, I;m not sure on conversions therre.
So you’re saying that I should puree the lot instead of straining it?
Agree with devilsknew on this - don’t strain out the solids; the idea of pressing through a strainer is to retain the essential flavors while getting rid of the fiber. But not only is the fiber good for you (or at least not bad), you can make it palatable by breaking it down into tiny bits. Puree the mixture in a food processor, or blend the heck out of it until it is smooth.
Essentially, yes.
Ok. I’m going to get this started. Wish me luck.
Man it’s taking a lot longer than I thought to brown 2 onions in butter
OK the soup came out great! I made a few changes to the recipe. Here is how I actually made it:
Ingredients:
• 2 medium onions
• 1.5 T minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 30oz can pureed pumpkin
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• ½ tsp ground bay leaves
• 1 stalk celery
• 2 tablespoons minced marjoram
• 2 tablespoons minced parsley
• 2 tablespoons minced chives
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 pint light cream
Directions:
Actually my last post was inaccurate–I used 1T ground marjoram instead of 2T minced marjoram.
I’m going to make this again this week and this time use only 1 1/2 onions (actually I’ll be making a double batch and using 3 onions, but same difference) because I thought there was a little too much onion in the soup the first time.
(Just updating this since at least one person had asked to report back how it turned out.)
Thanks for the update, OpalCat. I plan to do up a batch later this week and hope I have the same success!