pumpkin is so hip ::::
As promised, here is my soup recipe in which to try the recently posted cashew cream recipe. I wanted a little thickness to my soup, so I used cashew cream that wasn’t ultra-strained (meaning, I strained it in a sieve but not through a cheesecloth). If you want really smooth cashew cream, using a VitaMix purees it well.
I don’t have a lovely food memory to go along with this post. I could talk about the silky mulligatawny soup I remember when in London on my honeymoon in 1999. Or I could talk about my obsession with saag paneer, always ordering it in every Indian restaurant we try but not yet finding the right recipe to try and create my own. Or I could plug my pumpkin panna cotta from way back when.
But these are all short memories, just bits, fleeting. I don’t have enough to build on each; there is a blurriness to the memory, or a mis-remembering. Or it could turn into a repetitive story, like that elderly relative who tells the same yarn over and over, thinking it’s been the first time.
Here’s to a new vegan soup memory, pumpkin and cashew heavy. You won’t be disappointed, dairy lovers. You won’t miss the milk at all.
- olive oil to coat your pan
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 2 teaspoons curry
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- 3 15-ounce cans pumpkin (about 6 cups)
- 5 cups vegetable broth
- 2½ cups cashew cream (This is needs to be prepared ahead of time; see my cashew cream post)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- On medium-high heat, heat olive oil in soup pot until shimmering. Add chopped onion and cook to soften, about 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 3-4 more minutes with curry, coriander, and garam masala.
- Add pumpkin and broth to pot. Bring to boil then simmer for 15 minutes. Allow mixture to cool slightly.
- Using blender or food processor, blend mixture in portions.
- Add blended mixture back to pot and turn to low heat. Add cashew cream and sugar.
- Taste and add salt if needed.
- Serve topped with roasted almonds or a chopped avocado (Almonds are a nice touch and crunch. The avocado will blow your mind). This soup freezes well without the condiments.
2 COMMENTS
This looks amazing. I want to leave out the brown sugar. How do you think it would taste without it? Or could I use a little bit of Maple syrup or Agave instead?
Thanks
Jody
Without it, probably okay, but the sweetness does add more depth of flavor. Maple syrup or agave both sound great, but I’d start without about half as much as the sugar amount in the recipe, as both are sweeter than sugar. Add a little more after tasting, if it seems like it needs it. You don’t want to oversweeten.