Winter Soup: Sweet Spiced Pumpkin Soup

As I mentioned in my previous post, it's winter time here in Sydney. I'm not sure why but it seems so much colder than the past few years. Where I had only put my heater on a few times last winter, it seems that this winter I've had the heater on nearly every night and I am dreading the next electricity bill.

So with winter and the cold weather comes comfort food and I love the old pumpkin soup for a quick and easy filler. Over the years I've tried a number of different recipes for pumpkin soup but have more or less settled on this version I'm going to share. I'm eating a bowlful now as I type this post...loving the velvety finish ~ yum!

Sweet Spiced Pumpkin Soup
Approx 6-8 hearty servings

4-6 cups pumpkin (approx sizing as I forgot to weigh it, sorry!)
4 large carrots, peeled and quartered
1 sweet potato, peeled and quartered
6 potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 large onion
2 cups of vegetable or chicken stock (or 1 stock cube)
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
To serve, honey and nutmeg (to taste)

Method One - Baked
Chop pumpkin, carrots, sweet potato, potato and onion into large pieces and bake at 200°C oven until soft. You can leave the pumpkin skin on as it will be easier to remove when it is soft after baking. Once vegetables are soft, allow to cool and scoop pumpkin off skins and add to a large saucepan with other vegetables and stock. Bring to boil and allow to cool slightly before adding nutmeg and blending with a handblender until smooth.

Method Two - Boiled
Sauté onion in a large saucepan until it is just translucent, add vegetables and stock. Make sure there is enough water to cover the vegies. Bring to the boil and then turn heat down to low-med to allow the potatoes and carrots to cook to the stage where they 'mash' if pushed against the side of the saucepan with a spoon. You may wish to cook pumpkin and sweet potato separately to the carrot and potato as they require a short cooking time. Allow to cool slightly before adding nutmeg and blending with a handblender until smooth.

Serve with a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Notes: Now usually when I do a baked dinner I will add a few extra pieces of pumpkin, carrots, sweet potato and potatoes and set them aside to make soup. Baked vegies add more flavour, Carrot is for a richer colour, Sweet potato is for sweet flavour, Potato is for a richer thicker texture. Honey adds just a little bit of pizazz or if you're more traditional then serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Freezing Tip for Soups click here