West Indian Pumpkin Soup

Sue Lau's Note:

Has lots of spices and a little bit of heat from the scotch bonnet. Very Caribbean. Served either hot or cold, easily prepares in advance for when you need it.

• Total Time: 3 hrs
• Prep Time: 1 hrs
• Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients:

Yield: 10 cups

• 2 lbs cooking pumpkin or 2 lbs butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 lb sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 large Spanish onion, chopped
• 1 scotch bonnet peppers or 1 habanero pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons orange zest
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (aka pepitas; optional; for garnish)

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, toss squash and sweet potatoes with melted butter, brown sugar, salt and black pepper.
2. Spread mixture onto a greased roasting pan.
3. Bake at 350F for 1-1 1/2 hours, or until tender.
4. Saute onion in oil in a large pot until tender, about 5 minutes.
5. Add the scotch bonnet, garlic, and ginger and cook just until fragrant.
6. Add the thyme, orange peel, curry powder, nutmeg, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves, mixing everything thoroughly.
7. When it becomes sticky, add the roasted vegetables and stir to mix, then the chicken stock, stirring to keep blending everything.
8. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
9. Remove soup from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
10. Puree approximately 1/3 of the soup in a blender until it is smooth then add back to soup and stir well.
11. Add heavy cream and coconut milk and blend.
12. Reheat if necessary.
13. May also be chilled before serving up to 1 day.
14. Serve cold or hot, garnished with roasted pumpkin seeds (if desired).

Reviews

[discriminating tastes...]

I am West Indian and this flavor is very authentic. I omitted the cream and coconut milk because I too thought they might ruin the recipe. If I were to add any milk, it would be a tad of the coconut milk, to taste. However, I highly recommend making this without any cream/milk. I halved the recipe and made as listed, except for: 1) I roasted the onions along with the pumpkin/potato. It only took them about 1/2 hr to roast so I removed and kept the potatoes going for 1 hr total 2) I pureed the whole batch of potatoes (my preference), without the soup "juice". I added back in the pureed potatoes into the soup juice and then added more chicken broth to the mixture to get my desired soup texture (at first it was more like baby food and needed more liquid). This is definitely a keeper!

[canthelpmyself]

I can't rate this soup because when I tasted the vegetables roasted in the butter mixture I decided they were too delicious to make into soup and we ate them as is! I am planning to make a big batch of them for a family get together this weekend. Thank you.

[creativemedium]

Yum. I would omit the orange, however. That was slightly overpowering. Otherwise, this is a rich and delicious soup, that will serve as Comfort Food in our house for many years. Thanks for submitting it.