Autumn Gold

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Surely there can be no more versatile fruit (or vegetable) than the golden-fleshed pumpkin. This jewel of autumn can be prepared, cooked and served in so many ways from casseroles to confectionery and from pies to pickles but of all its many manifestations in this “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” my favourite remains… pumpkin soup.

In “Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book” the author writes of the simple farmer’s soup of the Loire in France, where a pumpkin purée is diluted with milk or cream and seasoned with some grated nutmeg; sugar is added to the children’s servings and salt and pepper to the adult’s. In its simplest form that is all pumpkin soup is but to the adventurous cook it has the potential to be so much more. Try this one…

Pumpkin Soup with Bacon and Blue Cheese

1 tbsp olive oil
½ cup chopped bacon – bacon ends are best…and cheaper
1 large onion – coarsely chopped
4 cloves of garlic – crushed
1.5 kg pumpkin – cubed
2 fresh sage leaves
1l homemade chicken stock
½ cup cream
¼ tsp ground nutmeg – freshly ground is best
100g blue cheese
Salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the bacon, then when the bacon fat starts to melt, add the onion and garlic to soften, without browning. When they are soft add the sage and the pumpkin and cook for two or three minutes before pouring in the chicken stock. Simmer until the pumpkin is soft. Blend the soup until smooth. Re-heat then add the cream and nutmeg; it is important that the soup should not boil after this. Before serving, crumble the blue cheese into the soup. Taste for seasoning…you probably won’t need any more salt…then serve with crusty bread.

Serves 4.

For something a little different, perhaps…

Pumpkin Soup with Kumara and Peanut Butter

1 large or 2 medium onions – chopped
4 cloves of garlic – chopped
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp garam masala – a blend of spices available at most Indian stores
¼ tsp or so of cayenne pepper – adjust to your taste
500g orange kumara – in 2cm cubes
500g pumpkin – in 200cm cubes
1l homemade or other good chicken stock
3 tbsp smooth peanut butter
Salt

In a saucepan cook the onions and garlic in the oil until soft and transparent. Stir in the spices and cook for a further minute over a medium heat. Add the pumpkin, kumara and chicken stock; bring to a boil then simmer until the vegetables are soft. Add the peanut butter then process the soup until smooth. Taste for seasoning and bring the soup to temperature for serving. Garnish with a swirl of yoghurt and a few roasted and chopped peanuts.

Serves 4.

A spicier option for supper on a cold night could be…

Pumpkin Soup with Thai Spices

3 tbsp oil
1 large onion – chopped
1.5kg    pumpkin – 2cm cubed
3 cloves of garlic – chopped
1 tbsp very finely chopped fresh lemongrass – or ½ tsp lemon zest
2 kaffir lime leaves – optional
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
3 or 4 tbsp Thai red curry paste – available in most supermarkets
1l homemade chicken or vegetable stock
400g tin coconut cream
Lime juice, sugar, salt and pepper – for seasoning
Chopped coriander or basil leaves and/or chopped fresh red chilli – for garnish

Heat the oil in a saucepan together with the onions and pumpkin. Cook over a moderate heat until the onions start to turn golden. Add the garlic, lemongrass, ginger, red curry paste and kaffir lime leaves, if using and continue cooking for 2 or 3 minutes before adding the stock. Bring to a boil and simmer until the pumpkin is tender then add the coconut milk and simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, remove kaffir lime leaves and blend the soup until smooth. Adjust the seasoning, adding lime juice, salt, pepper and sugar until the sweet, salt, sour and hot tastes are balanced to your liking. Reheat, then serve with coriander or basil and/or chilli garnish.

Serves 6.

For a special lunch or supper try cutting the ‘lid’ off a pumpkin, taking out the seeds and stringy pulp then filling the pumpkin a third full with grated Swiss cheese, another third with cream, adding a decent knob of butter, a clove or two of chopped garlic then seasoning it with salt, pepper and nutmeg and replacing the lid. Bake the whole thing for somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour and a quarter (depending on the size) until the flesh inside is very tender. Test it from time to time as the last thing you want is for the sides to collapse. Scoop out the flesh, cheese and cream and serve in soup bowls. One tip is not to slice the lid off but to cut round it with a sharp knife at about 45˚so that you end up with a plug that fits snugly.

Try adding chopped and fried slices of chorizo or some roasted parsnip to a basic pumpkin soup or blend in cubes of cooked apple; Mexican spices and sweet corn also work well. I have cooked mussels then used the broth as stock for the pumpkin soup, chopping the mussels and adding them just before serving; Elizabeth David even had a recipe for pumpkin soup with shrimps. For the finishing touch swirl in cream or yoghurt at the last minute or garnish with golden garlic croutons or perhaps toasted pumpkin seeds.

But however you decide to enjoy the riches of pumpkin soup, just be glad that as we don’t have Hallowe’en in autumn in New Zealand, you don’t have to waste any raw autumn gold.