An experimental blog. Food, politics, love, gender, art...the whole salad will be discussed here...who knows, maybe the right recipe will eventually write itself on these virgin pages...
November 30, 2010
The Underrated Pumpkin...
If you are new to my blog, please read my Welcome Note first. Yes it's an order.
Why is Pumpkin so underrated ? It's a lovely vegetable, full of nutrients and after all you do call your loved one - pumpkin - don't you ?
People think Pumpkin when Halloween is around...that's a real insult to the Pumpkin.
It's in season now and the following recipe is sure to beat your late Autumn blues - Pumpkin soup.
For 2 you will need approximately - depending on how big of eaters you are.
- a quarter of a big pumpkin / half of a small pumpkin.
- 2 tbs of cream (I use half fat) If you're a vegetarian you can use soy cream instead or you can use no cream at all. But cream does give it that special edge.
- 1 cube of beef stock (skip it if you're a fanatic vegetarian and use vegetable stock instead)
- a pinch of grounded nutmeg
- a pinch of grounded ginger (optional but trust me worth trying)
- a pinch of cinnamon
- a tiny dash of black pepper
- a handful of freshly chopped parsley. If you're too lazy to chop use dried Parsley.
Preparation
- peel pumpkin and cut in small chunks
- put pumpkin in saucepan, add your cube of stock, and cover with enough water (do not drown)
- stir until cube dissolves - leave your pumpkin to cook gently until very tender
- I don't have a blender but I have one of those electrical hand blenders that mashes stuff, I don't know what it's called. Anyway use anything that blends well.
- once your pumpkin is well cooked, mash it, blend it until it becomes thick soup like
- watch out for consistency. You don't want too liquid. but do add water if you feel it's too thick.
- add your pinch of nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, and dash of pepper (no need for salt as cubes are salty enough but optional)
- let it boil once on low fire and stir. You don't want it to get lumpy
- right before serving, add your 2 tbs of cream (make sure the orange stays orange and does not turn beige so take it easy on the cream), keep stirring and let it simmer a little more.
- if you opt for no cream, lessen the quantity of water to keep the soup nice and thick
- when serving throw some chopped parsley to decorate
Et voilà !
Now tell me - how can anyone stay blue with this full outburst of a glowing, wonderful, mouth watering orange?! Try it and let me know.