Pumpkin Soup with Roasted Mushroom Garnish
This is one of my favorite Fall, Winter or Thanksgiving soups. The recipe can be easily changed from pumpkin to squash to carrots and from Southwest to Asian by changing the herbs and chiles. To save time, use 32 ounces of canned pumpkin puree.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh pumpkin, butternut squash or carrots roasted
- 4 tablespoon vegetable oil divided
- 1 medium onion diced
- ½ cup celery diced
- 1-2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoon jalapeno or Fresno chile minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teas salt divided
- 4 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 ¼ cups coconut milk or cream
- ¾ cup shiitake or cremini mushrooms thinly sliced
- 2 to 3 tablespoon vegetable or chile oil
- 1 teas salt
- ½ teas white pepper or finely ground black pepper
- 2 to 3 tablespoon lemon juice optional to preserve color
Instructions
- Remove seeds and stems from pumpkin, squash or peeled carrots. Cut into manageable pieces and toss with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Roast at 400 degrees until fork tender. Cool. Remove peels and puree.Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in the bottom of a large pot. Add the onion, celery and thyme. Cook and stir 3 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Stir in the garlic and chile “stir fry” for two minutes. Add the puree to the pot, cook and stir until well combined, about 1 minutes. Season with one half of salt and pepper. Remove sprigs of thyme.
Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the temperature and simmer about 20 minutes. While the soup is cooking, roast the mushrooms, directions below.Allow soup to cool some. Blend small batches of soup in a blender or blend with an immersion blender until the soup is smooth and no chunks remain.Return to the pot and stir in coconut milk or cream. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat and keep warm.
While soup is simmering, toss mushroom in chile or vegetable oil. Season with salt and black pepper then, roast in a 450 degree oven until they brown and begin to crisp.Spoon soup into a serving bowls or cups and garnish with roasted mushrooms.