Pumpkin Soup

I bought the cutest little sugar pumpkin at the Farmer's Market yesterday and decided to make a pumpkin soup. Frank & Carrie were down for a few days and joined us for Sunday dinner.

The recipe is the same as the Butternut Squash Soup I posted last October, except that I roasted the pumpkin first. I cut the pumpkin in quarters, put them in a casserole with some water, covered with foil and baked at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.
Carrie volunteered to be my sous-chef and chopped onions, garlic and thyme:


I sauteed the chopped onions in olive oil for about 10 minutes, then added the chopped garlic and cooked for another minute. I cut the pumpkin into 1 inch cubes, added to the onion, stirred in broth and brought to a boil for about 15 minutes. Pureed the soup with an immersion blender until smooth. Stirred in chopped thyme and orange peel zest. Simmer for a few minutes and season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and swirl 1 tablespoon Roasted Red Pepper Purée into soup in each bowl.

Roasted Red Pepper Purée

Purée coarsely chopped roasted red peppers, extra-virgin olive oil, chopped garlic cloves and dried crushed red pepper in processor until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

I wish I had taken a picture of the finished soup so you could see the yellow color, not orange like you might expect. We followed our soup with roast chicken, pepperonata and smashed baby yukon potatoes.

I love Sunday dinner, especially when shared with family and friends!!