Pumpkin Soup
Classic Pumpkin Soup with Orange and Acorn Squash
This pumpkin soup recipe takes some time to make but the results are worth it. If you are looking for a rich flavored classic pumpkin soup without too much spice or sweetness, you will really like this one.
You can use apple cider vinegar instead of dry white wine if you want to. Also, leave out the cream if you like. Roasting the vegetables adds a great depth of flavor, similar to when you grill them. Some easy pumpkin soup recipes use boiled pumpkin but roasting tends to caramelize the pumpkin and make it extra sweet and juicy.
If you are pressed for time, you can omit the sieving but doing so gives it a really silky texture. You can use a colander if you prefer or some cheesecloth. The topping on this soup is very simple and a splash of balsamic vinegar and a few roasted pumpkin seeds are all you need.
Acorn Squash and Orange Pumpkin Soup Recipe
Ingredients -
2 lb pumpkin, halved, stringy bit removed
2 ½ teaspoons salt
1 lb acorn squash, halved, stringy bit, and seeds removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 carrots, peeled and halved lengthwise
2 yellow onions, peeled and halved
4 sprigs fresh thyme
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 ¼ cups chicken broth
½ cup dry white wine
2 shallots, peeled and halved
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon allspice
3 bay leaves
½ orange
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
¼ cup fresh orange juice
¼ cup heavy cream
Non stick cooking spray
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Rub half the olive oil over the squash and pumpkin halves and season them with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper, then put them skin side up in a roasting pan with thyme sprigs under each half.
Keep the pumpkin seeds.
Toss together the shallots, carrots, onions and bay leaves in the rest of the olive oil, salt, and pepper and put the mixture in the roasting pan. Roast for about 1 ½ hours, until everything is well browned. Stir the vegetables occasionally. If the orange starts to brown too early, take it out.
Take the pan out of the oven and let the vegetables cool down.
Turn the oven down to 325 degrees F, coat the pumpkin seeds in cooking spray, and add some salt. Roast them for about 20 minutes or until they are golden.
Remove the bay leaves and thyme and throw them away.
Scoop out the squash and pumpkin flesh and put it back in the pan. Put the pan over 2 burners over a medium flame and season with the rest of the salt, the allspice, and cloves, adding the wine to deglaze the pan.
Add 2 cups of broth and bring the soup to a simmer. Let it simmer for 20 minutes. Discard the orange.
Puree the soup in a blender or food processor and strain it through a sieve or colander into a big saucepan.
Add the rest of the broth, the orange juice, balsamic vinegar, and sugar and bring the soup to a simmer.
Stir in the cream.
Garnish with a splash of balsamic vinegar and the roasted pumpkin seeds.
(Serves 8)
Photo Description:
This great pumpkin soup recipe contains pumpkin, orange, and acorn squash for its wonderful color and richness of flavor. If you are making pumpkin soup microwave recipe and stove top recipes can both be useful but the pumpkin in this soup is first roasted in the oven to bring out the juices and boost the delicious pumpkin flavor. This soup is more time consuming to make than some of our other pumpkin soups but the end flavor is well worth the effort involved and if you are having, a lot of guests over this is a very impressive pumpkin soup recipe.
