Roasted White Pumpkin and Coconut Soup

I found these giant white pumpkins at a farmers market in Kelowna and brought them home to Calgary at the end of the summer. After sitting on my kitchen counter for a couple of weeks observing the scene, they ended up being cut in half, rubbed with butter, sprinkled with brown sugar and roasted in the oven until tender soft. We ate one half just at it was, scooping the sweet flesh out of the shell after drizzling it with a bit of agave syrup, just for fun. The other half made it into a lovely soup, flavoured with exotic spices such as ginger, cumin and coriander, and finished with coconut cream to round up the exotica. A beautiful soup to prepare and serve any time you have pumpkins hanging around in your kitchen.

---

Ingredients:

---

1/2 white pumpkin (I am sure a regular pumpkin would do)

2 tablespoons butter or oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
4 cups vegetable or chicken or vegetable stock

1 can coconut milk

Salt and pepper

---

Directions:

First, rub the cut side of the pumpkin with melted butter and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Place in a baking dish cut side up, cover loosely with foil and roast in a 400℉ oven until the flesh is cooked through, about an hour, but check to prevent it from burning. Remove from heat.

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Add onion and cook until onion is translucent but not browned. Add garlic, ginger, cumin and coriander and stir until the spices are fragrant.

Scoop pumpkin’s flesh into the pot, breaking it with the spoon as you go. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Let the pumpkin cook on low heat for about 10 minutes to blend the flavours.

Mash the soup with an immersion blender right in the pot, then add the coconut milk and continue mixing until consistency is smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more stock if necessary to thin it out.

Spoon soup into soup bowls, garnish with a little crème fraiche and serve hot.

---