Need a recipe for pumpkin soup

Cafe Society
1

And help serving it in a pumpkin.

In the ongoing quest to get some nutrition into my child, I thought I might try the cache of having pumpkin soup served in a pumpkin. Nothing with curry or hot pepper in it, since it is for Her Extreme Pickiness. I have fresh sugar pumpkins ready for use.

As for serving in the pumpkin - would you use a raw, scraped-out pumpkin, or would that impart a raw, “we’re carving Jack O’ Lanterns” flavor? I could have sworn I’ve seen this as a presentation a bunch of times, but a search of the web yields little to help me.

Thanks!

2

This may take some effort, but I had the absolute best pumpkin soup as part of the Thanksgiving dinner at the El Tovar hotel on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. It may be a longshot, but you could try to contact them about getting their recipe: http://www.kaibab.org/tr972/gc972115.htm

3

Really, no curry? Bleh.

Well, then, I’d go the other pumkin-route, and make a soupy pumpkin pie - nutmeg, brown sugar and unauthorized cinnamon. :smiley:

Or, there’s this Martha Stewart recipe, which is the best non-curry pumpkin soup I’ve tried.

Or there’s 151 other recipes at this site you can browse through.

I heart recipezaar.

Oh, and to answer your other question - you roast the pumpkin shells before filling them with soup to avoid the raw taste.

4

If you want a non-creamy soup, you could make this one with pumpkin instead of butternut squash:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/102324

I made it using Soyrizo instead of chorizo, veggie broth instead of beef broth, and without the blended pepitas, and it was delicious. If chorizo is too spicy for the little one, you could substitute any kind of sausage.

5

I’ve made this soup to rave reviews. It’s from Vegetarian Times. I don’t know about your daughter, but my children love black beans.

**Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup **
6 servings; vegan

1½ to 2 lbs. pumpkin or other winter squash
2 tbs. olive oil
2 medium leeks, (white and pale green parts) halved, well-washed and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
5 to 6 cups vegetable stock or canned broth
15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tbs. tamari or soy sauce
1 tbs. grated peeled fresh gingerroot
1 tsp. ground cumin
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Quarter and seed pumpkin. Steam until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool.

Meanwhile, in medium skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add leeks and garlic and cook, stirring often, until leeks are softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Scrape pumpkin from peel. In large pot, combine pumpkin flesh, sweet potato, bell pepper and 5 cups broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until sweet potato is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

In food processor or blender, puree soup, in batches if necessary. If soup is too thick, add additional broth. Return mixture to pot. Add leek mixture and remaining ingredients. Simmer until heated through. 10 to 15 minutes.

Per 1-1/2 cup serving: 163 ca.; 6G prot.; 4G total fat (1G sat. fat); 29G carb.; 0 chol.; 467 MG sod.; 4G fiber.

Ellen’s notes: I recommend chopping the leeks. Just slicing them produces long stringy pieces that are difficult to eat. I did steam the pumpkin, but several people have told me that it’s easier to bake a pumpkin than steam it. I don’t know; I haven’t tried.

6

I once served this pumpkin soup at a dinner party, and it was spectacular. I’m not too sure about serving in a pumpkin, though. Might get soft and collapse.

Ingredients:

2.25 lbs. pumpkin
3 T butter
1 onion, sliced
1 clove grlic, crushed
3.5 cups vegetable stock (best if homemade)
.5 t ground ginger
1 T lemon juice
2 bay leaves or 1 bouquet garni
1.25 cups milk
salt and pepper
heavy cream for garnish
snipped chives for garnish

Peel and seed the pumpkin, then cube. Saute the onion and garlic in the butter over LOW heat, until softened. Do not caramelize. Toss in pumpkin. Coat well and saute for 2 to 3 mins. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add ginger, lemon juice, and bay leaves (or bouquet garni). Cover and simmer for 20 mins or until pumpkin is tender.

Discard the bay leaves, and press the soup through a strainer or food processor (or my fave, use an immersion blender…only, for God’s sake, buy a cheap one. They’re just as good.) until smooth. Add milk and reheat gently. Adjust seasoning to taste. Garnish with a swirl of heavy cream and snipped chives.

7

Incidentally, a little “unauthorized cinnamon” in the above recipe might be quite heavenly.

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This recipe is good, and I make another one using a chicken broth base. Don’t worry about baking it in the pumpkin, I’ve done it about a dozen times, and there’s never been a problem. [http://www.ivillage.co.uk/food/tools/recipefinder/display_recipe/0,10193,5426,00.html](Pumpkin Soup in a Pumpkin)

IIRC, Julia Child has such a recipe in the second volume of her Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

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As would a little freshly grated nutmeg.

10

Heh. Shouldn’t it be something like “rogue nutmeg?” :slight_smile:

Thanks for all the recommendations. I’m starting with Martha’s recipe and I’ll work my way through the list, if need be. Though sausage or beans would go over like a lead balloon, I tell ya. Here’s a rough list of what my 3yo eats:

Bread, crackers, cereal - the whiter the better
Cheerios
Milk, yogurt, and cheese
Bananas and raisins
Sweets and junk food (to the maximum extent allowed by us)

Pretty much everything must be of even, predictable consistency, and meat and vegetables are generally right out. I did get her to eat some carrot-zucchini muffins, so I’m hopeful that fun presentation and an immersion blender might make this palatable too.

(Yes, I do adore my immersion blender!)

11

Here’s what I do - slowly roast the pumpkin chunks in the oven, with some whole garlic cloves and a floury potato or two for texture. Then when they’re almost falling apart, whiz them up in the blender with a dash of milk and lots of salt and pepper and some cumin.
Sorry, no advice about the hollowed-out pumpkin serving, but I would think that a quick blanche would prevent the raw-pumpkin flavour without compromising the strength of the ‘bowl.’
Good luck expanding the palette of your little one. It’s a good cause!

12

Ya want presentation? I’ll give ya presentation. Check out these Apple Butterflies! Have you ever seen food so cute?

(And my advice to all parents of picky preschoolers: dip, dip, dip! If it can be dipped in ranch dressing, tomato sauce or thinned out peanut butter, they’ll eat it. It doesn’t even have to taste good!)

13

We buy Imagine Butternut Squash soup. We call it pumpkin soup (because its orange and when my kids were toddlers, that helped convince them it had to be yummy). It may be easier to use that and just use a hollow pumpkin to make it look cool.

14

Just a bit of advice about picky 3-year-old eaters: you have to keep offering. They won’t eat it on the first, fifth or even 10th try. Long about #15, though, they’ll start to eat it. It’s frustrating and you end up throwing out food, but it’s worth it to keep offering the foods you want them to eat. Don’t cater to them, or you’ll end up a short-order cook to your 8-year-old – a place you DON’T want to be, trust me.