Roasted Ginger Pumpkin Soup + Dirty Pumpkin Seeds
I like to use the “cheese” pumpkins, they seem to be everywhere and have a very light flavor.
It’s my favorite time of the year ~ pumpkin season!
On the way to the beach, we stopped at a road-side farmers market and they grew over 60 varieties of pumpkins. I bought some meaty yellow pumpkins an orange baking pumpkin and a la Estrella for making sweet pumpkin candy (stay tuned). This is a recipe that I tested out at the beach.
Note, it is important to prep the seeds and the pumpkin meat at the same time so they go into the oven at the same time.
Ingredients
! large pumkin
2 cans organic coconut milk
1 T of Celtic sea salt
1-2 large yellow onions
1 lage 2-3” section of fresh ginger root
1/2 tsp oil ~ olive or coconut oil
1-2 T cumin, and any other spice you wish (I also used ground coriander)
1 QT water
Blender or food processor or hand blender
Roasted Ginger-Pumpkin Soup recipe
Cut the pumpkin in half or quarters. Scoop out the seeds and other loose flesh and set aside. If you choose halves, you lay them face down in a glass baking dish. Or arrange quarters in a glass baking dish. Glass is best for baking pumpkin or squash in general because there are always juices and you can add them into whatever you are making if they are not sticking to parchment or on metal.
Roast the pumpkin the until they are soft. I like to roast them at 300º F, but that will take several hours, don’t go higher than 350º F for about 30-45 minutes, check them with a fork. Let cool.
Chop the onions and ginger and toss in the pan with either olive or coconut oil and sauté until soft, let cool. You can add the spices at this stage as well.
Bloom the spices you have chosen by adding them and about 1 T of coconut or olive oil in the big pot where you will cook the soup. Use a gentle heat and stir til thoroughly blended with the oil. This will produce a wonderful aroma!
Separate the outer skin from the meat of the pumpkin and toss pieces along with some fo the liquids (coconut milk and water) in the blender or food processor. Depending on how much you are making you will need to do batches. You can also toss everything in one large (8qt or so) pot on the stove and use the hand blender. The idea is to get all the ingredients emulsified and creamy.
Bring to a boil slowly and let simmer for about 5 minutes are you are done! Serve with the pumpkin seeds or I always like to add a little hemp hearts on top. Sour cream is also an option.
Dirty roasted pumpkin seeds
‘dirty’ or unwashed pumpkin seeds have 10x the flavor of the cleaner variety. Pumpkin seeds are high n zinc, a natural immune system supporter.
Separate the seeds from the bulk of the pumpkin flesh, leaving most of the flesh intact, do not rinse them! Put them in a bowl and add the oil and a pinch of salt and mix around until all the seeds are coated.
Spread the seeds on a flat baking pan (glass or metal with parchment) and roast along with the pumpkin meat.
Seeds may take longer than the meat. Toss them around every 15 minutes or less so they cook evenly on all sides. The only way to know if they are sufficiently roasted all the way through is to taste one and serif it is crunch/dry.
Freeze what you don’t use right away. This is my favorite soup to take out of the freezer throughout the winter.