A bowl of golden pumpkin soup will brighten up any day, no matter how gray. It is a feast for the eyes, a treat for the soul, and a satisfying meal that nourishes your body. What’s more, it tastes exceptionally good if you prepare it according to the following recipe.
What is special about this pumpkin soup?
The ingredients and the taste!
Most people know (and love, I hope) the Indian or Asian-inspired pumpkin soup variant made with coconut milk and curry powder. How about an oriental touch for a change?
Chickpeas, caraway seeds, and sumac transform the familiar orange creamy soup into a delicious dream dish from one thousand and one nights. The round cute legume replaces the fatty coconut milk in this soup version while adding creaminess. The caraway seeds provide a subtle “earthy” hint without evoking memories of onion quiche or caraway bread.
Finally, the sumac: It brings an elegant, refreshing, tart acidity, and fruitiness to the game that expands and deepens the taste.
What’s more: This soup is eye candy! Its deep red-orange color is life-affirming like the summer sun and sensual like the dawn. It’s quick to make, too, especially if, like me, you use a pumpkin variety that doesn’t need peeling. I used an ambercup squash (in Germany known as Hokkaido), but butternut squash (don’t forget to peel this one) or another not too sweet tasting pumpkin would also work well.
Creamy chickpea and pumpkin soup with caraway seeds – exceptionally good!
Equipment
- Immersion blender or blender
Ingredients
Soup
- 1 medium ambercup squash about 700 g
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 3 tablespoons canola oil or another neutral oil
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoons ground caraway seeds
- 1 teaspoon sumac alternatively one tablespoon lemon juice
- 700 ml tomato passata
- 1 liter vegetable broth
- 400 g cooked chickpeas
- Salt to taste
Topping
- 200 g cooked chickpeas
- 4-5 stalks parsley
Instructions
- Wash the pumpkin, cut off the ends, cut the pumpkin in half, remove the seeds and the strings from the center, and cut the pumpkin halves into cubes.
- Peel the garlic cloves and mince them.
- Heat oil in a large pot and sauté the chopped garlic over medium heat until fragrant and beginning to brown.
- Add the diced pumpkin and the spices (turmeric, cumin, sumac) to the pot and sauté briefly until the spices start to become fragrant.
- Add the vegetable broth, the tomato passata, and the chickpeas.
- Bring to a boil briefly, reduce the heat and simmer the soup with the lid on for 30 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender (depends on the size of the pumpkin cubes).
- When the pumpkin is soft, turn off the heat and puree the soup (either using an immersion blender or in batches in a blender/mixer).
- Serve the soup garnished with chickpeas and parsley leaves.
I’m curious: What pumkin dishes do you love? Do you have any favorite pumpkin-based soups?
Psst, Pasta with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce and Creamy Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup.
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