Squash as a soup base makes the perfect blank canvas upon which to paint the spices of your favorite cuisines. I decided to daub my paintbrush in Mexican spices today. I have some cooked pumpkin in the freezer from the large pumpkin I cooked last Autumn that I used for the recipe, but you could use canned pumpkin in a pinch.The results were great with the exception of one garnish ingredient that I’ll talk about at the end. So, before you try this, read the caveat!
Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
5-8 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp cumin seeds, ground
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1-3 chillies in adobo sauce
1 russet potato, diced
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, diced
1.5 cups chicken broth
2 cups cooked pumpkin (butternut squash is a good alternative)
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp guajillo chilli powder. If using regular chilli powder, try a tsp at a time because it’s less flavorful but much spicier.
Garnish
cream Fraiche or sour cream
fresh cilantro, chopped
toasted pumpkin seeds*
In a stock pot on medium heat, saute the onions for 3-4 minutes until soft. Add the minced garlic, cumin, cinnamon oregano and chillies in adobo sauce. Continue to saute for another 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, carrots, and celery and continue to saute for another 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth, pumpkin, chilli powder, and sea salt. Bring to a boil and then simmer until vegetables are soft, 20 minutes or longer if needed.
Use a wand blender to puree the soup. You can do this in the stock pot. If you use a regular blender, you’ll need to do at least 2 batches. Put the puree batches in a bowl until all the soup is pureed. Add all the soup back to the stock pot, adjust your seasoning, and simmer on low for another 5 or 10 minutes to let the flavours combine.
Serve in soup bowls and garnish with the cream Fraiche, fresh cilantro and pumpkin seeds*
* I didn’t think the pumpkin seeds turned out very well in this dish, but I toasted them in a frying pan. Next time I’ll either toast them in the oven or try toasted almonds.