Autumn colours in the countryside are starting to match the rich copper finish of this soup.
The Liquid Amber tree.
Leaves are on the turn–slowly this year– but still attached.
The sunflower soldiers–stand in the field heads bowed, fading to charcoal black, waiting to be harvested.
The ground is too wet to harvest the seed heads.
The walnuts are dropping freely when the wind and rain are strong. For a short time after a storm, there’s a scattering across the road; until word gets out, and the owners or gleaners arrive to gather them up.
Conkers (horse chestnuts) everywhere–so round and polished chocolate-brown and so frustrating.
There’s no known use for them except the English schoolboy game of bashing the daylights out of a rival’s, both of them dangling at the end of a piece of string.
“Mine’s a sixer. What’s yours?”
“A twelver,” I lie….
And acorns in their thousands crunching underfoot, as I get back from a walk and start thinking about a soup to match the colour and the feel of early autumn.
Pumpkins are on the stalls with their cousins–butternut and spaghetti squash. It’s a heart-warming sight for me. It helps make the gear change from summer to autumn into something positive.
The man who delivered our winter supply of wood for the fireplace presented us his home-grown pumpkin.
So here’s the soup as it appears in my third book–Mediterranean Cooking for Diabetics (but useful for all who like to cook simple, healthy food.)*
Just looking at that colour warms you up!
Adapted from a recipe in Leaves from our Tuscan Kitchen–a peek into the daily ways of cooking in a Tuscan villa in the late 19th century.
2 to 3 serving
1lb/450gms pumpkin–roughly-chopped with its skin (HOORAY!)
1 medium onion–peeled and roughly-chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 generous pint stock (I use organic vegetable stock cubes.)
salt and pepper
- Place the onion and the pumpkin pieces in a saucepan with the olive oil.
- Add the spices with the salt and pepper.
- Turn everything over, cover and sweat over a low heat for 20 minutes to soften the vegetables.
- Add the stock and cook uncovered for a further 20 minutes or so, until the pumpkin is tender enough to liquidize.
- Liquidize the mix–best done with a stick mixer (saves much washing up!)
- A garnish of chopped parsley is a nice touch in each bowl–or a teaspoon of cream or plain yogurt swirled in.
- Brown bread–one slice per person–cut into croutons and sautéed in a little olive oil with pinch of salt and cumin powder
- Meredith suggests sautéed bacon bits would be good too.
*new subtitle!
Robin Ellis 
Hi Robin,
I’m imagining that this soup’s aroma must be the essence of Autumn in a pot! I would like to make it, but would canned pumpkin be ok?
Thank you! Julie H.
I don’t know, Julie. No pumpkins near you? Tinned could be horribly sweet.
FYI. I get ‘pure’ canned pumpkin, no added anything. Not the sweetened pie filling. I made this soup the other day with canned pumpkin… delicious.
Go for it!
WOW !
Pumpkinsoup with Kundalini 🌀😍
Amazing photos 👌
Really enjoying your latest book with divine dinners yesterday and today – ricotta thyme and parmesan ramekins and tonight the feta with tomatoes and onions. Wow! Thank you so much for this wonderfully varied selection of delicious recipes.
I’m really pleased to see that you leave the skin on your pumpkin. I think it brings a lovely nutty taste and a pleasant texture to the soup. People think I am mad when I say that the skin can be cooked but it is a lot less work and a lot more taste for sure.
Hope you are both keeping well and safe. Thank you for the lovely photos. Such a beautiful part of France you live in!
Tina
Thank you, Tina. Yes about the skin of the beast! Nice addition of colour and taste–and less work!!
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmm!
What does pumpkin skin taste like? Does it get soft enough to disintegrate?
It does on pumpkins not though on butternuts.
Beautiful photographs. I am inspired to try this soup with fresh pumpkin from the farm stand or butternut squash. Like the idea of leaving the skin on. Tonight we are having red lentil soup with lemon, inspired by Melissa Clark’s recipe in the online food section of the NY Times. Quick, easy, and delicious. Half the soup is left chunky- half is pureed with the stick blender- makes for an interesting texture. Garnished with fresh cilantro and olive oil. Garlic bread on the side.
Melissa is wonderful and the soup sounds delicious.
Your pumpkin looks a manageable size. Those for sale in my local supermarket are huge and heavy. I’ll see if the veg stall on the Friday market has smaller ones. Leaving the skin on is a bonus.
Good luck!
Beautiful and inspiring!
One of my favourite things about this time of year is pumpkin soup! And potimarron soup. I usually try the pumpkin soup in every restaurant we visit in October/November …. sadly restaurants are off the menu for us for the time being but we have pumpkins in the vegetable garden so lots of possibilities to test recipes….yours will be the next! Thank you, Robin, for evoking the season!
Bon appetit – Ruth
Hi Ruth–bon appétit!