I do not do pumpkin.
Nasty stuff.
HATE it.
So, imagine my surprise when this recipe appealed to me.
Rich had sent me a link from Calphalon® with the orange butter cookie recipe, and, while poking about, I came across Bahamian Pumpkin Soup. Curry, shallots, lime, and yes, the hated pumpkin; SOMETHING just clicked and told me to try it, so here we are.
And you know what?
It was GOOOOOOOOD!
Well, I liked it. Rich, as it turns out, is quite the traditionalist when it comes to pumpkin: use it in a pie, or as a bread, or maybe in some cream cheese as a schmear; but don’t go adding curry and shallots and stuff and turning it into a soup!
C’est la vie, more for me.
I did make a few small changes: I cut the recipe in half (still more than enough for four as a soup course), used onion and a bit of garlic in place of the shallots, and, since they didn’t really specify and I have a tub in the fridge to use up, I used some Thai red curry paste in place of the generic (but assumed) yellow curry called for. I also used some scallions and freshly toasted pecans to sprinkle on top, ‘cause I still do not have pumpkin seeds laying about the place.
INGREDIENTS
•1-1/2 tbsp butter
•1 tsp curry powder – as I noted above, I used some Masman Curry Paste
•1/2 onion, diced, plus 2 crushed garlic cloves – 0r 4 to 5 shallots, diced
•2-1/2 cup chicken stock – if you wanted a vegetarian dish, use a good veggie stock
•1 (15 oz.) can unsweetened pumpkin
•1/4 cup honey
•1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
•Juice and zest of half a lime
•Toasted pumpkin seeds – I went with toasted pecans and chopped scallion
Preheat a soup pot over medium-high heat until the rim of the pan is hot to the touch.
Add the butter and heat until bubbling. Add the curry, onion and garlic (or shallots) and sauté until tender – about five minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the pumpkin, stock, honey and nutmeg and stir until smooth.
When the soup is thoroughly heated through, add the lime juice and zest. Ladle into individual serving bowls and garnish as you like.
I was pleasantly surprised by how good this was. As noted above; Rich, ermmm, was not; you win some, you lose some…
OH – and if you’d like to try this (it was wicked simple and fast to toss together) and don’t happen to have any curry paste in your fridge – I still have most of a tub. Just sayin’…