One of my husband’s comfort foods is Pumpkin Cream Soup.   Every time he gets sick or I want to get something out of him, I make it.  This recipe has come a long way…. At a certain point in time, I used to thicken the pumpkin soup with heavy cream or potatoes, but there is no comparison to the flavor and texture coconut milk provides.  It complements the pumpkin’s savour and gives it the perfect consistency.  Be sure to use freshly grated nutmeg and put rest of ingredients whole (without chopping them) to cook in the saucepan with the broth and pumpkin.  They will all combine together in the blender. Finally, once served, I add some goat cheese crumbles (or croutons) and some fresh italian parsley for garnish.

Here is my version of what I consider to be the Perfect Pumpkin Cream Soup!

Enjoy!

Perfect Pumpkin Cream Soup

Ingredients

3 cups of cubed pumpkin

14 ounces good quality vegetable broth

1/2 small onion

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cubanel green pepper (pimiento de cocinar or ají), if you cannot find this pepper, omit

2 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 cup of coconut milk

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1 tbsp butter

pepper to taste

goat cheese

coarsely chopped italian parsley

Procedure

1.  Place cubed pumpkin, vegetable broth, coconut milk, onion , cubanel pepper ( if you have it), garlic, nutmeg and brown sugar in a medium saucepan.  Cover and cook over medium-high heat  for about 20 minutes or until pumpkin is cooked.

2.  Purée soup with a hand blender. If you do not have a hand blender and want to use a regular blender, you must be very careful and allow heat to come out while the machine is on.  I recommend you do it in small batches because you don’t want it to overflow and burn you. Then return to sauce pan.  Serve with a dab of goat cheese and sprinkle with some italian parsley.