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Gingered Pumpkin Pear Soup

Gingered Pumpkin-Pear Soup

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Prep Time 50 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine French, Mediterranean
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 medium size pumpkin about 3 lb, cut in half and seeded
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 2 sweet onions chopped
  • 3 tsp fresh ginger grated
  • 3 ripe sweet pears peeled cored and chopped
  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 2 tsp curry powder
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp coarse sea salt
  • Garnish: 1 pear cored and thinly sliced

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375°F / 190°C
  • Place halved and seeded pumpkin, cut sides down, on a baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes until tender. Cool. Scrape pumpkin pulp from peel with a spoon. Set aside in a bowl.
  • Melt butter in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add onions, pears and ginger. Saute for 10 to 15 minutes until tender.
  • Add pumpkin pulp and saute for 5 more minutes
  • Add broth and wine and bring to a boil over medium-high heat
  • Add curry powder, black pepper and salt. Stir well, and let simmer for 20 minutes.
  • Puree soup with a chopping hand-blender until smooth.
  • Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with pear slices.

Notes

  • Use any sweet pears you like: Bartlett, Anjou or Bosc. Just sample before using to make sure you do not have grainy pears that will affect the consistency.
  • To scrape pumpkin pulp from peel easily, hold it in place with tongs and use an ice cream scoop.
  • Not all pumpkins are born the same: if using a bigger pumpkin, you can freeze the extra pulp for future use.
  • Like a spicier soup? Add more ginger; rather have a more mild? Use only 1 tsp ginger.
  • More curry powder can be added for a more “Asian” flavor. Feel free to experiment with different curry blends according to personal preferences.
  • If you like your soup even richer in flavor, you can add cayenne pepper, ground coriander and even minced garlic.
  • Taste the soup before serving: if a little too spicy, add up to ½ cup of cream to cool it down.
  • An even fancier garnish is dried pear slices: preheat oven to 200°F / 95°C. Cut a pear lengthwise into paper thin slices. Arrange in single layer on a baking sheet. Bake until dry, about 1 hour. Let cool completely before handling.
  • Garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds for a more “earthy” feel
Keyword ginger, pear, pumpkin, soup, spice