Pumpkin Soup Recipe
Ingredients
6 cups chicken stock
4 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
5 whole black peppercorns
½ cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
Directions
Step 1 Place chicken stock, pumpkin puree, onion, garlic, salt, thyme, and peppercorns in a large pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes.
Step 2 Transfer soup to a blender or food processor in batches; blend until smooth.
Step 3 Return soup to the pan and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Step 4 Stir in heavy cream. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with fresh parsley.
Pumpkin History
The oldest known domesticated pumpkin seeds hail from the Oaxaca Highlands of Mexico. The pumpkin is believed to be from Central America and to be over 7,500 years old. Originally, pumpkins were small, hard, and bitter in flavor. They were mainly grown for their flesh, and are considered an early crop of the Native Americans. One of the first American recipes for pumpkin was featured in New England’s Rarities Discovered, a book published by John Josselyn in the 1670s. It was a recipe for diced pumpkin cooked in a pot over the course of a day, with spices and butter added. The iconic pumpkin pie, star of countless Thanksgiving desserts, emerged from a trend that began in the 19th Century, where it was popular to serve sweetened pumpkin dishes. Circleville, Ohio, is home to America’s largest pumpkin festival, the Circleville Pumpkin Show. The town was also home to E. Sears Canning, a cannery which often handled pumpkin products that shut down during the Great Depression. The festival began in 1903 when Circleville’s then-mayor, George Haswell, began an annual produce festival, which soon was dominated by pumpkins. Today, the festival offers many pumpkin dishes, such as pumpkin donuts, burgers, and taffy, among other things. There are also pumpkin-themed contests.
The Guinness World Record for heaviest pumpkin was reached by Beni Meier of Germany. Meier’s pumpkin weighed 2,323.7 pounds. It was Meier’s third record-breaker of the season.
Citations
Pumpkin Soup. (2008, July 1). Allrecipes. Retrieved September 22, 2022, from https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/9191/pumpkin-soup/
Avey, T. (2014, November 25). History of Pumpkins | The History Kitchen. PBS Food. Retrieved September 22, 2022, from https://www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/history-pumpkins-recipes/
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