Velouté au potimarron avec du Chantilly et les oignons confits – a delicious pumpkin soup recipe with lots of oh la la just perfect for autumn from Rachel Khoo. This recipe is from her book My Little French Kitchen…
“Onion soup is pretty much a staple on every French alpine menu. But, listed just underneath, a pumpkin soup sneaks in more often than not and I was fortunate enough to be served an exemplary version at the little bed and breakfast I stayed at in the Savoie region after a long day on the slopes. Unlike the dark, golden brown-hued onion soup, its pumpkin counterpart is altogether different; a vivacious bright orange it looks a little out of place between the drabber winter fare which is commonplace in the Alps.
Roasting the pumpkin might sound like a bit of a pain (you could just as easily bung everything into a pan with vegetable stock) but it’s well worth it. The pumpkin takes on a rich sweetness with roasting that simply doesn’t compare to being boiled in a pot of stock. The soup is pretty delicious on its own but, to add a little Alpine flavour, I top it all off with some fluffy edible snow (well, almost!). A little whipped cream with some caramelized onions and crunchy seeds and you have a vibrant and colourful soup to take on those dark winter days…”
Pumpkin soup with cream: Serves 4
Preparation time: 30 minutes; cooking time: 45 minutes
1kg chestnut pumpkin, pumpkin or butternut squash, chopped into large pieces
4 cloves of garlic, left whole in the skin
4 tablespoons pumpkin seeds (or use the seeds from the pumpkin)
olive oil
salt and ground black pepper
1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon butter
1 litre hot vegetable stock
100ml whipping cream
Place the pumpkin, garlic cloves and some of the pumpkin seeds on a baking tray, toss with olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast for 30 minutes at 180°C, or until tender.
Leave to cool before scooping the flesh from the pumpkin pieces into a pot. Squeeze out the garlic from the skin and add to the pot. Clean the seeds of any strands of pumpkin and add to a separate pan with the onion and butter. Place on a medium heat and fry for about 10 minutes until the onion begins to caramelize. Stir occasionally.
Meanwhile, finish the soup by adding the hot vegetable stock to the pumpkin and garlic. Blend until smooth then taste and season. Whip the cream with a pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper, to taste.
To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and divide the caramelised onions and pumpkin seeds between the bowls.
Add a dollop of the whipped cream to finish… and enjoy!
My Little French Kitchen by Rachel Khoo is available from Amazon
