Roasted Pumpkin Soup - A Hearty, Spicy, Vegan Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How does Jamie Oliver make pumpkin soup? ›

Pumpkin & ginger soup

Place the pumpkin, shallots, ginger and some oil in a large saucepan and sauté until soft. Add the stock, coconut milk and chilli powder. Season, then bring to the boil and simmer for 40 minutes. Blitz in a food processor then serve with the fresh herbs, lime juice and a splash of coconut milk.

Pumpkin is packed with vitamins and minerals, and it's relatively low in calories. It's also high in beta-carotene, with antioxidant and immuno-regulatory properties. If made according to a low-fat, low-sugar recipe, pumpkin soup is considered to be healthy.

If it tastes bland, add more salt. The salt definitely brings out all the flavors from that long list of spices. Stir in maple syrup.

Add a few drops of good sherry vinegar on top of the soup to contrast against the sweetness of the pumpkin and the peppers.

Scoop out the flesh from 2 or 3 roasted garlic cloves and add to the pan with the nutmeg and a little seasoning. Sauté for a further 1–2 minutes. Stir in the soft pumpkin and Parmesan, then pour in the stock. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for 10–12 minutes.

Pumpkin is notorious for pairing well with warm winter spices – as found in a variety of Moroccan-inspired cuisines. Try incorporating cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cumin and chilli with your pumpkin dishes for flavour-packed feasts.

It is safe and healthy to eat pumpkin every day, but Campbell suggests sticking to only one serving per day—about half a cup of canned pumpkin and one cup of raw pumpkin – for a couple reasons. “Although pumpkins are great for you, they do contain a good amount of fiber,” says Menshulam.

Pumpkin ranks high on the glycemic index at 75, but low on the glycemic load at 3. People might assume that it is bad for diabetics because of its high GI, but that is not true. Its low GL rank indicates that having a small portion of pumpkin is perfectly safe and will not drastically increase your blood sugar levels.

As she tells #OWNSHOW, eating too much pumpkin can have an unintended effect on your skin. "If you actually consume too many vegetables or foods that have an orange-yellow color, your skin can start to turn a bit orange," Bowe says.

Bread and crackers are arguably the best side dish to serve with soup to soak up all that goodness. Pumpkin soup is the ideal soup to eat with bread because it's smooth and creamy. No little bits will fall off your cracker or slice, and the carbs will keep you satisfied long after you've cleaned your bowl.

What thickens pumpkin soup? ›

Other methods of thickening pumpkin soup include: grinding nuts into a paste then adding to the soup (cashews are ideal). Milk, coconut milk or cream can also be added to make pumpkin soup thicker.

“Pumpkin soup is best made with your good, old-fashioned varieties like butternut or Queensland blue — the harder pumpkins,” she says. “Soft fleshed pumpkins can make the soup a little watery. They are a different beast… from your standard greengrocer pumpkin.”

Seasoning canned pumpkin purée with spices is a surefire way to improve the flavor. But don't stop at a teaspoon of cinnamon powder or a dash of nutmeg there. To really take advantage of spices' power, you've got to let them infuse into the veggie mash.

If the fresh pumpkin is overripe, it can start to ferment and develop a sour taste. Another factor to consider is the type of fresh pumpkin you're using.

Like all sweet and creamy textures, pumpkin loves the savoury flavour of bacon, fried until crisp and sprinkled on top of a pumpkin and potato puree. Grilled pork goes well with pumpkin. Beef is also a great protein for pumpkin dishes.

Canned pumpkin and pumpkin puree are the same thing. These terms are often used interchangeably in recipes, though you may also see the term solid-pack pumpkin. All these terms mean 100% steamed and pureed pumpkin—no extras, no add-ins—not even in the canned variety.

If the fresh pumpkin is overripe, it can start to ferment and develop a sour taste. Another factor to consider is the type of fresh pumpkin you're using.

Canned pumpkin (labeled as "100% pure pumpkin") is a purée of pumpkin that is sometimes mixed with other kinds of winter squash. It is unsweetened and does not contain any added spices. Canned pumpkin and pumpkin puree are the same thing, and you'll often see the terms used interchangeably in recipes and cookbooks.