This soup has a beautiful blend of textures: the smoothness of the puree combined with the added vegetables and the crunch of the toasted pumpkin seeds is very satisfying. In addition to being a wonderful meal unto itself, it would be a lovely starter course for your Thanksgiving menu.
Serves 4.
About 3 cups pumpkin puree
To make pumpkin puree, choose a small 3-4 lb pumpkin. 1 lb = about 1 cup of puree, roughly. Cut your pumpkin into 4 pieces and remove the seeds. Bake on a cookie sheet in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes until pumpkin is tender when pierced with a fork. Once cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh out, discard the skins, and mash with a fork.
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 pats butter, divided
4 cups chicken or veg broth
3 Anaheim pepper, diced small
1 cup corn kernels
2 cups fresh spinach
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 cup heavy cream
Toasted seeded pumpkin seeds for garnish
In a soup pot, on medium heat, melt one pat of butter and sauté the Anaheim pepper until they are just softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pot and set aside.
Add the second pat of butter and sauté the onion and garlic until just soft, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the pumpkin, return to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a medium simmer. Cook for about ten minutes. Remove from the heat and puree your soup using either an immersion or traditional blender and then return it to the heat, medium high. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Next, add the corn kernels, the spinach, and the reserved sautéed Anaheim peppers. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes until the spinach has wilted and the corn is just barely tender. Stir in the cream and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Top with toasted pumpkin seeds to garnish.
This soup has a beautiful blend of textures: the smoothness of the puree combined with the added vegetables and the crunch of the toasted pumpkin seeds is very satisfying. In addition to being a wonderful meal unto itself, it would be a lovely starter course for your Thanksgiving menu.