Curried Pumpkin Soup

As I've said many times, GFG does NOT waste food!  That extends to the squash assortment I purchased for a fall centerpiece!  I had some sugar pumpkins lying around, and knowing they'd go bad soon, I figured- pumpkin soup! why not?!  Even better, more crunchy salty pumpkin seeds! 

First, you'll need to roast your pumpkins.  The pumpkins should be the smaller pumpkin pie pumpkins, or sugar pumpkins, not the big carving ones.  Cut a circle around the stem and then pull the stem out, then halve down the middle, and proceed to scoop out the stringy guts and seeds.  The seed are awesome, don't throw them out!  Once you've cleaned them out, place skin side down on a foil lined baking sheet, and preheat the oven to 350.  Rub the insides with EVOO and sprinkle with sea salt.  Roast for about 70-80 minutes or until a fork will pierce it easily.  The soup is easy peasy from here.

Curried Pumpkin Soup
Flesh from two roasted pumpkins, or two cans of pumpkin puree
4 cups chicken stock
1 can light coconut milk
4 strips of turkey bacon (optional)
one small onion, diced
1 tsp minced garlic
Salt and Pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp garam masala

In a large pot, saute onions until yellow.  Add in bacon (if using), garlic, and stir for another minute or so.  Add seasonings, and stir for 2 or 3 more minutes.  Now, add pumpkin, coconut milk, and chicken stock, and stir.  Check your salt and pepper and adjust accordingly.  I love salt and salty foods so I added quite a bit, and also quite a lot of pepper, because I like things spicy.  My roast pumpkin was a bit on the bland side, so needed a lot of seasoning.  At this point, bring to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes.  Then, use your immersion blender to puree until it's nice and creamy, or pour into a blender if you don't have an immersion blender.  Et voila!  S ate a huge bowl of it, mixed with yogurt for some protein.  Personally, I think some Curried Pumpkin and Bacon Soup would have been even better!  So if you have some, dice it up and throw it in with the onion for even more depth of flavor.  Yum!

Are you getting pumpkin'd out yet?  I'm on the verge.  But really, who can resist all that orange squashy goodness!?  XoXoGFG