Pumpkin Soup Experiment

Karen

Gerard loves growing pumpkins and each year he grows a few different varieties. With plenty to choose from he came up with a great suggestion for a bit of research.





THE IDEA.............


Four of us were provided with one of the above varieties of pumpkin each and the same recipe so that each soup was made in exactly the same way. We made soup on the same evening and then had a very warming shared lunch the following day. Apart from our very full bellies, we came up with some interesting opinions and results that we thought we would share with you all.





JUDE used Waltham Butternut
As expected, this soup was very buttery.





JAIME used Jarrahdale
This variety seemed to enhance the spice in this soup, in particular the cumin.




BARB used Queensland Blue
The consistency of this soup was very light and airy and the colour was a lot brighter.




KAREN (me) used Triamble
This was a smoother soup.




THE SUMMARY...........


We were all very surprised at just how different the four soups were to taste. We enjoyed all of them and the consistency was similar. The colour varied a little but we came up with the following conclusions.
  • The degree to which the pumpkin and carrots were roasted does make a difference to the taste and probably to the colour. The longer they are roasted, the more flavour they add to the soup.
  • The quality of the vegetable stock appeared to enhance the flavour.
  • The freshness of the spices impacts the balance of the spice flavour.




Here is the recipe we used. It is very tasty and we decided to not add the optional chilli as it was a variance we wanted to avoid.

RECIPE


Roasted Pumpkin and Carrot Soup
INGREDIENTS:

1kg pumpkin, peeled & deseeded, cut into 1cm pieces
800g carrots, peeled, cut into 1cm pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp Mustard seeds
2 tsp Coriander, ground
1 tsp Cumin, ground
1 tsp Tumeric, ground
1/2 tsp Cardamom, ground
1/4 tsp chilli powder or flakes (optional)
4 cups (1L) Vegetable stock
2 cups (500ml) water


METHOD:

1. Toss pumpkin & carrot pieces in 2 Tbsp oil.
2. Roast in oven for 30-35mins at 210C until golden & tender.
3. Heat remaining oil in large pot, then add the onion and cook until soft on low-med heat.
4. Add garlic & spices, & cook for approx 2 mins until fragrant.
5. Add pumpkin, carrot, stock and water. Cover and bring to boil.
6. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 15mins.
7. Set aside for further 15mins to cool slightly.
8. Blend in batches until smooth.
9. Serve with a dollop of yoghurt & crusty bread or rolls.




We hope you enjoy this as much as we did.
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