Velvety Pumpkin Soup
When it became tradition, here in Denmark to carve pumpkin lanterns for Halloween I started thinking what one could cook with a pumpkin. Pumpkin was not traditionally served in Denmark (not in my family at least) so I had never tasted it before. I tried a few recipes and ended up with my own version of a velvety Pumpkin & leek soup. This soup is absolutely divine and so smooth and indulgent that you will need no more than this for dinner. However, I cannot guarantee you will have any leftover for the next day! My girls also love this soup, as it has the right combination of flavour and is not too spicy nor too bland. Give it a go, it’s very easy and very yummy.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 large Hokkaido pumpkin /or normal pumpkin
- 2 large leeks
- A large knob of butter or margarine for cooking
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- 1 chicken stock cube (or if you are vegetarian a veggie stock cube)
- 1 liter of water (or more if it is a large pumpkin)
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of pepper
- 250ml double cream
METHOD:
Peel the skin off the pumpkin, remove the seeds and chop into 2.5–5cm chunks.
Clean and chop the leeks into 1.5cm slices.
Boil the water, and add your stock cube so it melts, you need 1 litre.
Get a large saucepan on the stove on a medium/high heat. Put a good knob of butter to the pan, and when it sizzles, add the leeks and cook until glassy. Don’t let them brown or burn, as it will destroy the taste of the soup.
Add the curry powder and stir it into the leeks. Add the chilli powder – remember that it gets spicy very fast, so add to your taste.
Add more of the butter and then add your pumpkin chunks. Stir, and add more butter if it goes dry; don’t let it burn. Stir until the pumpkins obtain a kind of velvety surface.
Add the stock water, and turn the heat down. Leave to simmer for 5 minutes.
Add salt, pepper and cream, and continue to simmer until the pumpkin is soft.
Take the soup off the heat, and with a hand blender, carefully blend the soup until there are no more chunks. Be careful as this is very hot. I do this in the sink, so I am sure that the saucepan won’t fall anywhere.
If you need to, put the soup back on the stove for a few minutes, until piping hot.
Serve with crusty fresh bread and lashings of butter.
Enjoy!