Over summer we grew a wonderful crop of Queensland Blue pumpkins in mounds of excess soil piling up from our landscaping project. These pumpkins are perfect for this family recipe that has been on rotation in my kitchen for over 20 years now.
Equipment
Ingredients
Large cutting board
Vegetable peeler
Large pot with a good base
Scales
Soup ladle
Stick blender
Oven mitts
Something to use as a timer
Heat mat or trivet
Serving bowls
700g (1 ½ lbs) pumpkin (I prefer Queensland Blue or Butternut for this recipe but it’s a preference not a rule)
2 large brown onion
350g (3/4 lb) potatoes
4 cups chicken stock – You can use either purchased liquid stock or for a more cost effective option use powdered stock or stock cubes.
1 ¼ cups cream (can be substituted with lactose free cream such as Zymil)
Salt and pepper
Optional: Garnish with sour cream, chives or nutmeg. See serving suggestions below.
Method
- Peel vegetables, cut pumpkin and potatoes into large pieces (they will break down during cooking).
- Dice onions
- Prepare stock cubes in water.
- Put pumpkin, potato and onions in large saucepan
- Add chicken stock to pan
- Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes until very soft and tender.
- Let the soup mix cool slightly, remove pan from the stove and then puree. I find a stick blender the best option (safer and less messy and can be done in the saucepan).
- Return pureed mix to the saucepan and return to stove on low setting.
- Add cream and mix. Have a taste to determine how much seasoning you need and then, season as required with salt and pepper.
- Bring the mix to slight boil again and then simmer for 5 minutes stiring regular to ensure soup doesn’t stick to base of pan or burn.
- Serve into bowls
- Add one of the serving suggestions below below
Tip: Stock can vary in saltiness so always do a test before seasoning your soup at step 9.
Serving suggestions
In each bowl, swirl a dollop of sour cream through the soup and sprinkle some chopped chives or nutmeg. Serve with some sourdough bread and butter (try whipped butter for something extra special), or homemade garlic bread.
