Have you ever considered pumpkin soup? It’s really easy to produce a whole lot of pumpkin if one gardens, and, between Halloween and Thanksgiving there are often plenty to be had for free. The problem is: for most people, the only way they know to use pumpkins is in… pie.
Green Country Seed Savers thread on Old Timey Cornfield Pumpkin
Pumpkin soup is not well known in the United States, but in parts of Europe it is very well known. Our family first made it when we lived in Mexico, though we never saw pumpkin soup in a Mexican menu. We simply had a lot of pumpkin to use and wanted something hot for lunch, on a cold rainy day.
Related post: Four Reasons Large Squash are Better
Did you know that “pumpkin” and “squash” are sort of synonyms?
Generally, when we make pumpkin soup, we start with the recipe found on page 185 of the 1975 edition of Joy of Cooking, by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker, the cook book which Jerreth received as a wedding gift, back in 1982. I’d recommend any edition of Joy of Cooking. It’s just a great cook book!
Here’s the recipe, along with some modifications I threw in.
Ingredients for Pumpkin Soup:
3 cups of cooked pumpkins
3 cups of scalded milk or chicken broth (I used chicken broth)
1 tablespoon each of butter and flour (Kneed them together before adding to the soup.)
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
salt & pepper (to taste)
½ teaspoon powdered ginger (Optional: I added ginger. It was excellent.)
½ cup julienned ham (I used almost a cup of shredded chicken)
¾ cup of light cream. (I didn’t add cream.)
Steps for Preparation:
Place everything except the meat and seasonings in the blender,
Blend it up.
Pour into a sauce pan on the stove top.
Slowly heat the pan
Add the meat
Stir in the seasonings, heating but not boiling the soup. (Taste, as you season, being careful not to add too much salt.)
Serve immediately
Homesteading Edu has an entire course on Sourdough