- Pumpkin Soup

Dear Fans of Hounds Who Cook,

Here we are, pups after Halloween with so many jack-o-lanterns. We baked them up (they were only outside for the evening glowing with candlelight) and froze the puree in pint bags. We noted which ones came from darker dense pumpkin (cooking pumpkins) and the lighter watery pumpkin (carving pumpkins) so when we go to cook with it we can adapt the pumpkin accordingly. (We will drain the light stuff some more and not expect the deepest pumpkin flavor that the darker flesh will yield.)

We searched our favorite epicurious.com and found this Delicious recipe for pumpkin soup. We ate it with whole wheat french bread slathered in Butter.

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup chopped carrot
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 3/4 cup chopped ripe banana
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 whole clove
• 5 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 2 cups canned pure pumpkin
• 3/4 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk*
• 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried sage leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon yellow curry powder

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add carrot and next 6 ingredients and sauté until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Transfer mixture to processor and blend until smooth. Return mixture to pot. Add broth and all remaining ingredients except cilantro. Boil soup over medium-high heat 15 minutes to blend flavors. Cool slightly. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly, then cover and refrigerate.)

Bring soup to simmer. Divide among 8 bowls. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

*We used dried coconut cream powder and diluted it twice as much for the coconut milk.