spicy pumpkin

You may recall that I used a bunch of pie pumpkins in my Thanksgiving table setting and on my kitchen island fall display. Soon after Thanksgiving, I roasted those pumpkins and froze the flesh – with the knowledge that I’d be making pumpkin soup for Christmas.

This recipe serves eight, so you will only need 2 small pumpkins, but since I had five to work with, I more than doubled the recipe.

For the garnish I used THESE sweet and spicy pepitas, but toasted pepitas (readily found at Trader Joe’s) work just as well.

Pumpkin and Chipotle Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, peeled diced
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
5 cups fresh (*recipe below) or canned pumpkin puree
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

Heat a large pot over medium heat. When hot, add oil and then sauté the onion and garlic until soft and translucent. Add the chipotles and cumin. Stir to combine.

Add pumpkin puree, broth, and half-and-half. Simmer until heated through. Transfer, in batches, to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Return to the pot.

Cover and let simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Ladle into bowls and serve with pepitas sprinkled on top.

Serves 8

Oh, and check out the beautiful individual-covered pomegranate soup tureens I received from my darling family on Christmas morning! We used them for our soup later that afternoon! LOVE them! An extra big bowl of thanks to my sweet Marissa for all the trouble she went to gather them from various bay area Williams-Sonoma stores after she found out that they were sold out online! xoxoox

* Roasted Pumpkin

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut each squash in half.  Scrape out seeds and strings with a large spoon and discard. Coat flesh with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay halves cut side down on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast, turning halfway through, until golden brown on both sides, about 30 minutes.

Use a large spoon to scrape out all the flesh and then discard the skins.  May be frozen for up to 4 months.