Pumpkin Soup

Every once in a while its nice to start of a meal with soup. The kids love it and there is nothing quite as delicious as homemade soup. This is the Lovely Wifes department. She is the soup queen and I never, ever interfere with her soupy endeavours! Well, maybe sometimes...

One of our favourite soups is Pumpkin Soup. Pumpkins are delicious on their own and even more so when made into a soup. This recipe is based on the Le Cordon Bleu Home Collection Soups book.
The actual recipe calls for long grained rice but the Lovely Wife added in some macaroni instead. The kids loved the fact that there was pasta in the soup and it gave a little more 'fill' to the soup.

This is the recipe from the book:
750g -1kg pumpkin
3 large potatoes - chopped
3 large tomatoes, halved and seeded
1 stalk lemon grass, white part only, bruised with the side of a large knife
1.2 litres chicken stock, vegetable stock or water
1 1/2 tablsepsoons long grain rice
pinch of nutmeg
15 g unsalted butter (optional)
3 tablespoons thick cream

Method
Cut a wide circle around the pumpkin stem using a small, sharp, pointed knife and remove the top. Using a large metal spoon, scarpe the seeds from the pumpkin and discard, then either scrape as much flesh as possible from the pumpkin using the spoon or cut the pumpkin into wedges. Slice just inside the skin to release the flesh and chop it roughly.
Place the pumpkin, potato, tomato and lemon grass into a large saucepan with the stock or water. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Bring to the boil, then reucde the heast and simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. Remove the lemon grass stalk and discard.
While the soup is simmering, add the rice to a pan of boiling salt water and stir to the boil. Cook for about 12 minutes or till tender. Drain the rice in a sieve and risne under water. Set aside and leave to drain well.
Transfer the soup to a blender of food processor and puree untill smooth. Return the soup to a clean pan, add the nutmeg and adjust the seasoning. The soup should be thick but still drinkable from a spoon. If the consistency seems too thick, ad a little milk. Stir in the rice, butter and cream then heat through. Pour into bowls and garnish with freshly ground pepper and some herbs if desired.

It was certainly delicious and to add some 'colour', The Lovely Wife dropped in a dollop of cream in the middle and swirled it. The kids loved this and wanted to keep adding more cream just to swirl it around!


Since there is a little pasta in this recipe, I'm submitting it to my friend Ruth who hosts Presto Pasta Nights over at Onceuponafeast.blogpsot.com