Hi! I know that at this time of year you have recipes for pumpkin stuff coming from all sides but I’m going to throw ours for ‘Pumpkin Soup’ into the pot (hehe) (a) because it’s tasty, (b) because it was made with roasted pumpkin pulp from fresh pumpkins that we prepared last fall and had in our freezer, and (c) because it seems very rich and decadent but is quite low in fat.
Our fresh cooking pumpkins are not quite ready yet here in Canada, but we had one last bag of fresh-frozen pumpkin pulp that we prepared last fall. I don’t mind canned pumpkin but after Nick introduced me to ‘real’ home roasted pumpkin, I am sold that it tastes quite a bit better. It’s more work yes, but the extra delicious flavor is worth it. Plus you only have to do it once a year and then you have fresh (frozen) pumpkin all year long. I’ve included a slideshow below of when we made some.
[Update : If you’re interested in roasting and freezing your own pumpkin puree there’s a post about it here.]
↑ That’s a slide show ↑
Anyway, use fresh pumpkin pulp or canned for this recipe. The other ‘magic’ ingredient that we used in this soup that we have just discovered makes a really nice creamy tasting soup, but is low in fat, is Evaporated milk. This is regular cow’s milk with 60 percent of the water removed. We bought a can by mistake when making Key Lime Pie a little while ago, when we meant to be buying Sweet Condensed Milk. So we had this can in the pantry and I’ll admit that I was a doubter when Nick suggested using it to make soup, but it truly does make a soup that is a lovely texture. Since we discovered it, we have had this pumpkin soup, leek and potato, and cauliflower soups, that I would precede with “Cream of …” but there was no cream in them. But really, if I didn’t know otherwise I would definitely have thought there was. And who wants the extra fat and cholesterol if you don’t need it, right?! To give you a feel of how much lower in fat it is, 1 tablespoon Evaporated Milk = 1gram of fat, Light Cream (aka coffee cream) = 2grams, Whipping Cream = 5grams, and Heavy Cream (the type usually used in cream soups) = 6grams of saturated fat.
Pumpkin Soup : Delicious and Low Fat
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin pulp, fresh or canned.
- 2 cups broth
- 1 can (370ml) Evaporated milk (note: this is not sweetened condensed milk)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 chopped white onion (about 3/4 cup chopped)
- 1 large carrot chopped
- 1 inch piece of minced fresh ginger
- 2 cloves of garlic, middle core removed and then minced
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- salt to taste (about 1 teaspoon)
- fresh herbs if you have them. We used rosemary and chives.
Instructions
In a large pot, heat oil. Add garlic, ginger and onion and saute for about 2 minutes. Add carrot and continue cooking until softened. Add broth, pumpkin, nutmeg and salt. Bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes. Puree with either an immersion blender or in a food processor. Return to pot. Stir in evaporated milk and heat until just hot. Don’t boil it once you’ve added the milk. Stir in chopped fresh herbs, and serve with some freshly ground black pepper.
Description
Harvest Pumpkin Soup
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We had ours with some homemade whole wheat knot-rolls that Nick made, using dough prepared in our bread-maker. About that thing … we just got it in the spring with some Christmas money from Nick’s parents, and have to say that we really love that thing. The one we have is by Breadman, and we ordered it over the internet here.
And since I didn’t get any shots of the soup being prepared I’ll toss in some pictures of the resident baker at work instead. (Yes, he is wearing a hairnet and always does when he’s cooking. It’s a holdover from days spent in restaurant kitchens.)
Thanks very much for visiting. Wishing you a great week-end, coming up!
xo loulou
