Hearty Roasted Pumpkin Soup Recipe

Pumpkins are in season so why not make some hearty pumpkin soup to fill your belly and your soul. Roast the seeds in the oven and use them as a garnish on top of the soup and dig in to all of this pumpkin goodness. You can eat the soup and the seeds too. We started with local sugar pumpkins from our local farmer.

Did you know that pumpkins are very good for you. They fit well into a health-conscious diet and aside from that, they taste good! Pumpkins are low in calories but high in fiber. They are also low in sodium. The seeds are high in protein, iron, and the B vitamins. Pumpkins are very high in beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is an antioxidant. It converts into Vitamin A, which is important to maintain a healthy body. Researchers believe that eating a diet rich in beta-carotene may reduce the risk of heart disease and some cancers. They also believe it helps to delay aging.

Hearty Roasted Pumpkin Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2-1/2 pounds sugar pumpkin, seeded and cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 medium-size onion, peeled and quartered
• 2 mushrooms, stemmed, cut into chunks (or 1 can of sliced mushrooms)
  
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper
• cinnamon and all-spice (1 teaspoon of each)
• 5 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
• Prosciutto, fried to make crispy

Soup Cooking Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut pumpkin into 2-inch chunks. Combine pumpkin chunks, onion, mushrooms, and garlic on a rimmed baking sheet. Add oil and 2 teaspoons salt; toss to coat, then spread in a single layer. Roast in the oven until the pumpkin is tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, about 30 minutes. Rotate pan and toss vegetables halfway through. Let cool and then remove skins.

Transfer pumpkin mix to a medium-size saucepan and heat over medium. Pour in 2 cups of stock; puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Add cinnamon and all-spice. With the blender running, slowly add remaining 3 cups stock, and puree until smooth. Bring soup just to a simmer. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.

Top with Crispy Prosciutto and roasted pumpkin seeds.

How to Roast Pumpkins Seeds:

Clean the seeds and boil for 10 minutes in salt water. Dry seeds with a paper towel or tea towel. Spread seeds onto a baking sheet and drizzle with about 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil. Roast seeds at 325º for 10 minutes.

How to Make Crispy Prosciutto:

Cut a few slices of Prosciutto into small pieces. Put in hot frying pan and fry up until crispy. No oil is needed. Crispy prosciutto can be used like bacon, in whole pieces or crumbled.