Hearty autumn soup – pumpkin and chorizo
How can you resist the gorgeous colours of pumpkins or squash this autumn? Now Halloween is over, get your hand blender out and make this hearty spiced soup. Meat and veg. in one, a meal in itself.
Want vegetarian pumpkin soup?
Just take the chorizo out and replace it with some cayenne or spice of your choice.
Or
Head over to our other vegetarian butternut squash soup recipe made with tinned coconut milk, tinned tomatoes and a few fragrant spices. Replace the squash with pumpkin if you like. It’s super simple.
Tips
in your store cupboard: use the shop bought green pumpkin seeds for sprinkling on top and save the roasted ones for a snack !
mise en place: pre-roast your pumpkin or squash, and leave it in the fridge to use for your soup!
serving suggestion: add a little green herb like parsley..if thats not too over the top!
Servings : 6 | Prep Time : 60 mins | Cooking Time : 40 mins | Difficulty : 1/5
Kitchen tools
chopping board and sharp knife
Hand blender or counter-top liquidiser blender
Roasting tin or pyrex dish
Heavy based deep saucepan
Essential ingredients
100g (about 1/4 lb) Chorizo
500 g (15 oz) pumpkin ( or squash)
2 cloves garlic
1 carrot
1 medium onion
100 g (1/2 jar or can) chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
small red bell pepper, seeds removed
Water
Optional ingredients
Toasted pumpkin seeds to garnish
1 vegetable stock cube
A cream to garnish
Green herb like parsley to garnish
variations
No roasting…then toast the seeds in a pan on the stove, and instead of roasting the vegetables just boil them all in the pan with the water and pepper. You may want to add the stock cube in this case to replace the extra special flavour that roasting gives to the pumpkin and onion.
Too thick… add water or a liquid vegetable or meat stock
Too thin… add more chickpeas or cooked potatoes. If its tasting too watery, then add some heavy cream and mix in. save some to swirl on top!
Want more veggies…just add some cauliflower, or potatoes, or leeks.
Method
Step 1
Chop the pumpkin, carrot and onion into chunks (make them all a similar size, about 1 inch each). Remove the pumpkin seeds. If your pumpkin is getting old then peel off the skin… if not, just wash and use it !
Lay on a roasting tin or pyrex dish, season. Drizzle with the olive oil, and seasoning. Spread the pumpkin seeds onto a shallow roasting tray, sprinkle with olive oil and seasoning.
Roast the pumpkin at 180C / 350 F for up to 40mins..until soft browned and juicy.
Step 2
Meanwhile put pint of cold water in a pan, chop the pepper roughly and pop it in. Add heat and simmer until the pepper is soft. Then turn it off.
Step 3
Crush the garlic. (Just chop the ends off while the skin is on, and flatten them with the side of your sharp chopping knife. The skin will just fall off. Then chop as roughly and finely as you can.)
Step 4
Chop the chorizo into cubes and sauté until cooked through with the garlic. Add the washed and drained chickpeas near the end.
Step 5
Put your results from steps 1. 2. 3. together into the pan with the water and pepper. Purée with a hand blender until smooth.TASTE and adjust.
Step 6
Add the ingredients from step 4. Little by little adding the chorizo and blend and taste as you go. Save some chorizo for sprinkling on the soup bowls if you like!
Step 7
Heat the soup up, adding more water if necessary. Check the seasoning, then serve.
You shouldn’t need the stock cube but if your soup is lacking in depth then use one. Be careful not to add extra salt if you are using the stock / bouillon though as its usually salty enough.
source / inspiration
I find pumpkins so tempting to buy and want to keep them as decorations. The colours are so heavenly! I got overloaded with Autumn colours from radishes, red onions, sage and more! I’ve just been inspired by @elfkitchen on Instagram to pan fry the radish for a cooked breakfast!
The lovely pale sage green colour pumpkins at Ten Kat market in Amsterdam was my first source for this recipe, and the second was a recent trip to Spain where I love the chorizo. I loved the reds and oranges together, so the chorizo serves its colourful purpose here on top, as well as giving a meaty spicy flavour to the soup. I came across the combination of the two quite a while ago I think from a Philips product recipe in the Netherlands and have always wanted to try it.
Jules at www.thestonesoup.com inspired me to think about a variations section. I often think it, or do it, but she puts it in all her recipes – shows we all do it, so why not write it !
Now having written this, I’m looking at my Sage plant out of the corner of my eye and wonder what it would be like with pumpkin! …or courgette even better. ( Watch this space for a new sage soup idea. )
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