It’s January, and the heavens have opened up and scattered a giant sheet of fluffy ice crystals across the land, as winter is wont to do. If you happen to find yourself out in the wide white space of the countryside, stand still in the silence and fix your ear to the wind.
You just may hear the farmers’ collective hum of rejoice resonating in whirls through the air…water!…water! Snow doesn’t just mean hot chocolate and scarves, but an H2O bounty from the sky. Full reservoirs are certainly good for all of us for many reasons, but growing food is at the top of the list. I don’t know a single farmer who doesn’t get a satisfied twinkle in his or her eye at the thought of a beautifully irrigated piece of land. Coming out of a drought, it seems like more of a blessing than ever.
Even if you don’t get excited about irrigation or grow food, I bet you eat it. Which is why in the midst of these cold, short days, the rooted team decided to celebrate this abundance of precipitation and get our hands on some winter squash grown in the valley, and make the quintessential cold weather comfort food: soup.
We know a bona fide wonder woman named Stephanie Ketcham, who was savvy enough to puree her own pumpkin and put it in the freezer and was kind enough to share. She even had some homegrown tomatoes at the ready in cold storage, so we went with it. What resulted was an afternoon in Aileen’s kitchen in our stocking feet making pumpkin soup, two different ways.
Any kind of winter squash can be used in these recipes, so if butternut or acorn is your thing, go for it!
Soup is very flexible and forgiving, so relax, have fun and let the flavors meld.
Soup #1: Pumpkin Curry Soup recipe .pdf
Chop:
1 medium onion
4 cloves garlic
8 oz. mushrooms
1 Tbsp. ginger root
Sauté on medium heat in a stockpot in 2-3 Tbsp. Olive Oil.
Stir in 1 tsp. curry powder (or more if you prefer)
Add to pot:
32 oz. vegetable broth
2 cans of coconut milk
1 qt. bag of tomato puree (or 28 oz. can of crushed or chopped tomatoes)
4 cups pumpkin puree
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Allow to simmer for at least an hour. We found that the longer this soup sat the more the flavor developed—yum!
If using chunks of fresh cooked pumpkin/squash, add to pot and simmer briefly, then blend soup in batches or with a hand blender to desired consistency. I tend to like my soup with a bit more texture.
Optional: Sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds!
Soup #2: Pumpkin White Bean recipe.pdf
Chop:
1 medium onion
4 cloves garlic
Sauté on medium heat in a stockpot in 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil.
Add:
1 quart chicken broth
1 quart water
With a few sprigs of thyme, parsley and sage, make a bundle and tie together with some string and toss in the pot (the flavors seep into the soup nicely, and you remove it later).
Bring to a boil and simmer.
While above is simmering,
Chop:
2 leeks, white ends only
Sauté in a separate pan in olive oil until softened, then add 4 cups pumpkin puree.
(If using chunks of fresh cooked pumpkin/squash, add here.)
Combine well and heat through.
Add to stockpot:
2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
pumpkin/leek mixture
Allow to simmer at least 30 min. (or longer).
Remove your herb bundle.
Blend soup in batches or with a hand blender to desired consistency.
Optional: If you have any fresh sage leaves left, fry them whole in some olive oil until crisp and add salt.
Sprinkle them onto your soup, it’s magical!
