September 05, 2018 · Written by Foodtolive Team
Fabulous Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Are you ready for fall and winter season? One way to snuggle up and get comfy is to have a bowl of a fabulous roasted pumpkin soup to warm the day. In fact, it is so yummy that it gets really good all year round. Roasting the pumpkins make the difference in this soup. Once roasted, pumpkin releases a sweet flavor and a soft rich texture. You can basically add the freshest ingredients and spices with lovely toppings in this soup to make it more fabulous. Indeed, there’s nothing like a good tasting and warm pumpkin soup on a long, tiring day.
As the main star of this soup, you might ask what a pumpkin is. Is it a fruit or a vegetable? It’s commonly known as a vegetable but an in-depth look on its features may actually reveal that it is a fruit. Pumpkin is a part of the Cucurbitaceae family along with squash and gourd. It is a round large yellow to deep orange fruit that has edible flesh and many seeds. They have large flat seeds and rigid outer skin. Technically, it is a fruit because it is an edible body of a seed plant. Pumpkins are a popular crop in the US. It is a versatile fruit that has many uses. Its edible flesh can be made as pies, bread, and cakes, put into stews, soups, and salads as well. Carving its rigid outer skin can make a beautiful jack lantern on Halloween. It can also be made as a face mask, exfoliating scrub, and body butter.
Not to be left behind also are the many great nutrients that a pumpkin contains. It is a highly nutrient dense food that has remarkable health benefits. It’s the best sources of a powerful antioxidant beta-carotene. Our body converts beta-carotene into vitamin A that helps in fighting free radicals in our cells that can cause certain types of cancer, offers protection from heart disease and asthma, it keeps the skin smooth and healthy, delays aging and body degeneration. The fiber, potassium and vitamin C in pumpkin give support to heart health. It also helps in controlling diabetes. The plant compound that is found in pumpkin seeds and its pulp helps in the absorption of glucose in the tissue and intestine as well as balances the glucose in the liver. It can make you regular also as pumpkin is a rich source of fiber promoting regular bowel movement and smooth digestion.
Now that we got ourselves acquainted with pumpkins, it is now easy to make a fabulous pumpkin soup and get this winter warmer to a full blast in 30 minutes. But before that, here are tips on how to go around making this fabulous soup.
1. Make sure to pick your pumpkin right.There are a lot of pumpkin varieties that produce a different outcome. If you are a first timer in making a pumpkin soup, it is worth to go for the most common variety like butternut and Queensland blue for they have a sweet flavor and dense texture that is excellent in making this soup. Stay away from softer flesh kind as it tends to make the soup watery. Look for a blemish-free pumpkin with a smooth outer skin and has a hollow sound when knocked in. When cut open make sure that the flesh is brightly colored and not fibrous.
2. As fabulous and lovely pumpkins are, it still needs some boost to pump up its natural sweetness to a max. Try sautéing chopped leeks instead of onions and add up potatoes to thicken the soup that will create for a velvety smooth texture. You can also add carrots to bring an extra sweetness and earthiness to your soup. To make it more delightful, add a fruit combo to it. Throw in some granny smith apples into it as the combination of sourness from the apple and sweetness from the pumpkin will give a perfect zest to your pumpkin soup.
3. Roasting the pumpkins and the other veggies will also create a caramelized flavor to the soup. It’s a way ahead if you like your soup to be extra rich and intense.
4. To make your pumpkin soup more flavorful and more satisfying, try using a good homemade chicken and vegetable broth into its liquid. You may also add in a little coconut cream to bring richness and creaminess to your soup.
5. Don’t forget to spice it up. You can add up a spice that will fancy your buds like cinnamon, nutmeg, oregano, rosemary, thyme, sage, and cumin or whatever that will suit up your taste. Spices are best added together when sautéing onions to release its extreme flavors.
6. Never forget to have the crunch as toppings for your soup. Sprinkle on top some toasted pumpkin seeds, green pistachios, almonds, and hazelnuts to give a crunchy bite to your soup until the last spoonful.
7. Herbs are an essential addition at the end to make the soup to look and taste fresh. It is even better to add it from the start to make a subtle taste but if you want a smack to it you can add it fresh at the end.
Cooking pumpkin soup is so easy. Now that we covered what we need to do in order to make a fabulous pumpkin soup, here is the basic way of preparing it. Simply sauté yellow onions and garlic in oil until translucent. Stir in the peeled pieces of pumpkins and add chicken or vegetable broth. Cook gently until pumpkin becomes soft. Blend with a stick mixer or put to food processor until smooth. This is the base model and from here you can follow the guidelines above to jazz it up with your favorite spices, veggies, and herbs by simply incorporating it into your soup.
No matter what the season maybe, pumpkin soups are a pleasing comfort food to have. It will ease your warmer days and give solace to your chilly nights.
