Cozy up to this silky smooth Roasted Pumpkin Soup…blended with fennel, apple and garlic. It’s drizzled with syrupy balsamic vinegar, toasty challah croutons and a fleck of Basque chili powder.
I think we can all agree that autumn has finally arrived. The October heat wave is gone and the rainy, chilly cloudy days are here. More importantly, it’s firmly pumpkin season. No, not decorative guard season. Not pumpkin spice season. It’s pumpkin season…..sugar pumpkin season.
Mid-September through Thanksgiving, I go on a sugar pumpkin buying frenzy. I buy as many as I can, roast them, and freeze the pumpkin flesh in 1/2 cup portion mounds. This way, I can have pumpkin all year round for my favorite recipes like Butternut squash baked pasta with sage and spinach.
Pumpkins aren’t just for pies or muffins. My favorite way to prepare pumpkin is for savory dishes because of their silky texture and light taste. They are especially incredible in soup.
Why You’ll Love Roasted Pumpkin Soup.
Here is THE soup….my easy, everyday Roast Pumpkin Soup. Apples, fennel, shallot and garlic are sautéed in salted butter (yum, right !?) then blended with roasted sugar pumpkin, stock and a splash of milk or cream. (And yes, I will repeat…like I do in ever post…yes, you do like fennel. You just don’t know it yet.)
For this soup, I highly recommend using a high speed blender to puree this soup like a Vitamix really achieves that silky texture. (They are generally on sale at Costco.) But in a pinch, an immersion blender should be ok but it won’t achieve that exact same texture.
My Roasted Pumpkin Soup tastes even better the next day, so I highly encourage you to cook it ahead of time or even keep a stash in the freezer when you need a little pick me up. It’s perfect for cozy lunch, a petite appetizer, or served with grilled cheese and a salad!
The Finishing Touches…
Now, here comes the important bit. I believe that you can’t eat a blended soup without layers of texture…otherwise a blended soup is just a hot smoothie…..
I drizzle each bowl of soup it with a syrupy balsamic vinegar. It brings beautiful, tangy acidity to the soup. Syrupy balsamic vinegars are relatively easy to find. On the Kosher scene, I recommend this one. They are the same balsamic you see some folks drizzle on ice cream.
The next layer of topping is Basque chili powder, also known as Piment d’Espelette. This spice is from France but easily found here in the states. It has a beautiful smoky, robust flavor that I really love in this soup. It’s also fabulous on roast vegetables, eggs, really anything that could benefit from a little smoky heat. I encourage you to explore this spice!
The last embellishment is the olive oil challah croutons. A little warm crunch is always welcome with a smooth soup. You can make these croutons out of any bread really…but as a challah baker…challah is very available to me. The recipe for these croutons is a fast and loose one. Sourdough would be lovely for these croutons also. This is the basic method to make them…feel free to adapt them as you wish.
I hope you make this incredible soup tonight! Enjoy and happy cooking!
Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Equipment
- 1 high speed blender
- 1 5 quart pot
- 1 cookie sheet
Ingredients
Soup
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 4 cups roasted pumpkin pumpkin before roasting: roughly 4lb 9 oz
- ⅓ cup shallot small chop
- 1 heaping cup fennel small chop, outer fronds and layers discarded
- ¾ cup Macintosh apple peeled, small chop
- 1 heaping tbsp fresh garlic minced
- ½ ts dry thyme
- ½ ts Kosher salt divided
- 1/8 ts Piment d'Espelette plus more for serving
- 3 cup low sodium vegetable broth
- splash cream or milk
- Syrupy balsamic vinegar for drizzling
Olive Oil Croutons
- 3 large slices Challah cut into 1 inch cubes
- extra virgin olive oil to drizzle/lightly coat
- Kosher salt to sprinkle
Instructions
To Roast Pumpkin:
- Preheat then oven to 410 °F (convention roast if you have it).
- Cut the pumpkin in half and rub it all over with olive oil.
- Put the pumpkin, cut side down, on a cookie sheet and roast it for about 40 minutes, until you can easily stick a fork through the skin and the pumpkin flesh is very tender.
- Remove the pumpkin from the oven and let it cool.
- Using a spoon, removed the pumpkin seeds and discard. Peel away the skin and discard. Place the pumpkin flesh in a bowl and set aside.
To make the soup:
- Heat 2 tablespoons of salted butter in a 5 quart pot over medium heat until shimmering.
- Add the shallots with 1/4 teaspoon of the Kosher salt and sauté for about 5 minutes, until the shallots are translucent and turn golden. Stir often.
- Add the fennel and sauté for 8 minutes, until the fennel has become a deep golden color. Stir often.
- Add the apple and sauté for about 5-8 minutes until the apple has softened and turned slightly golden. Stir often.
- Add the garlic, dry thyme, remainder of the kosher salt, Piment d'Espelette and stir. Cook for less than a minute until garlic and spices are fragrant.
- Add the broth and the pumpkin and stir.
- Bring the soup to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 20 minutes.
- Carefully pour the soup into a high speed blender. Cover with the lid and process, on high, until the soup is fully blended and very silky.
- Add a splash of cream or milk and blend again until fully combined.
- To serve, spoon soup into bowls, drizzle with balsamic, a pinch of Piment d'Espelette, and adorn with olive oil croutons.
For the olive oil croutons:
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Cut 3 slices of challah, about 1 inch thick. Stack the slices on top of each other, and cut them into 1 inch cubes.
- Mound the challah cubes on the cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, perhaps 3 tablespoons. Sprinkle with a little kosher salt, around 1/8 teaspoon, and toss to fully coat the challah cubes. Spread the cubes out on the baking sheet.
- Bake the croutons for about 6 -8 minutes, until lightly golden, then turn them over and cook another 3-5 minutes until browned.
- Remove them from the oven and let them cool.
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