West Indian Pumpkin Soup/La soupe de citrouille de l'Indie de l'ouest

I had originally planned to serve this at my Autumn Festival party this year. Unfortunately I had to cancel the party. However, Jody and I had the opportunity to make during my little vacation there last week.

I got this recipe from Better Homes and Gardens' America's Ethnic Cuisines.

West Indian Pumpkin Soup
La soupe de citrouille de l'Indie de l'ouest

You can serve this creamy, richly spiced soup cold or hot. Look for pumpkin seeds (also known as pepitas) at Latin American or Mexican markets, if they're not already roasted, toast the raw seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet for 10 minutes in a 350º F oven.

Prep: 1 hour
Roast: ¼ hours
Cook: 40 minutes
Oven: 350°F
Stand: 10 minutes
Makes: 10 cups


Ingredients

• 2 pounds butternut squash or cooking pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large Spanish onion, chopped
• ½ Scotch bonnet chile or 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped*
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh thyme or
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme, crushed
• 2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 small bay leaves
• 6 cups chicken broth
• ¼ cup whipping cream
• ¼ cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1//2 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
• 2 Granny Smith apples, cored and diced (optional)

Directions

• In a large roasting pan toss together the squash, sweet potatoes, butter, sugar, salt, and black pepper. Roast in a 350° oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, in a large Dutch oven heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in chile, garlic, and ginger; cook 1 minute more. Add thyme, orange peel, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves. Cook for 1 minute, stirring to coat vegetables. (The mixture will resemble a paste and begin to stick to the bottom of the Dutch oven.) Add the roasted vegetables and any pan liquid, stirring until well combined.
• Pour in broth and bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes to cool. Discard cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Place a small amount of soup at a time in a blender container; blend or puree until smooth. Return pureed mixture to Dutch oven. Stir in cream and coconut milk. If desired, cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Serve cold or reheat.
• To serve, ladle soup into shallow bowls. Sprinkle soup with toasted pumpkin seeds and, if desired, diced apples.

Notes:

1. A Dutch Oven is just a large, deep pot.
2. I used Jalapeño as I have never cooked with Scotch Bonnets before.
3. Instead of roasted pumpkins seeds we used spiced apple rings. Everyone agreed this was a good choice.
4. Matt suggested that is wasn't spicy hot enough.
5. Jody and I think it could have used more nutmeg and possible cinnamon.
6. I think it could use some clove.
7. The soup is nice cold, but I think I like it better hot.
8. It's much better to serve it a day or so after you make it.

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