Guest Recipe- Pumpkin Soup

Hello friends!  I had previously asked a friend and reader of Foodthoughtsofachefwannabe to share a great recipe!  She got busy, then I got busy but finally I have taken time to bring you this delicious soup, perfect for a COLD winters day or night!  

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Julie, is a California mom who prides herself on cooking great food for her family.  She is the mother of 2 gorgeous children and the adoring wife of Hank!  I met Julie when I was her daughters music teacher in school, and private piano instructor out of school!  She is always cooking up fantastic dishes and I would consider it tragic if my readers weren't privy to one of her delicious dishes!!!

Grocery list:

1 pumpkin

7 potatoes

4 cups chicken stock

onion, garlic, cinnamon stick, cloves, bay leaves, curry, ginger, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper

This is my recipe for pumpkin soup. My kids like it but call it "pumpkin poop" just to annoy me.   I am in a position to reciprocate by making them squirm at my discretion with many embarrassing photos and stories but that's another blog, right??!!

I used a 10 inch pumpkin which was one that we had gotten at a pumpkin patch near Riverside, CA. I cut it in half and cleaned all the seeds and strings from it. Then I placed it in a 9 x 13" glass cake pan with an inch of salted water in the bottom and baked it for 2 hours @ 300° or until soft. Flip them carefully over and scoop out the flesh and cut it into 2" chunks. 


Place in a stockpot with 7 diced and peeled potatoes,1 onion diced, 2 cloves of garlic,  and 4 cups of good, strong chicken stock. Cook until potatoes and pumpkin are soft then remove from heat and cool until you are ablt to transfer to a food processor. 


Using a slotted spoon, carefully scoop onions, pumpkin, and potatoes (saving the chicken stock in the stockpot) by batches depending on the size of your food processor. Pulse until smooth and pureed. Transfer back into the chicken stock and mix the puree in.  The easiest way would be to cook all of the ingredients and use a handblender to blend it to soup consistency, however, since I can't find mine after the move and I don't want to buy another one, I use the food processor! Spice with 1 cinnamon stick, 2 cloves and 2 bay leaves (which are removed before blending), 2 tbsp. curry, 1 inch very finely diced fresh ginger, salt, pepper or chili, and a dash of Worcestershire sauce. 

Serve with crusty "Everything" French baguette. 

How delish does this sound AND look?  Thank you Julie, for taking time to share with us one of your great recipes! 

Your "guest recipes are awesome" chefwannabe

Chris