Equipment
* optional
Ingredients
Soup Base
- 30 g unsalted butter, cubed
- 150 g yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic, crushed
- 800 g pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced
- 800 ml vegetable stock, hot
- 1 vegetarian parmesan cheese rind
- 100 ml heavy cream, room temperature
- 50 g vegetarian parmesan cheese, finely grated
Crispy Garnish
- 30 g pumpkin seeds, raw, hulled
- 15 ml olive oil
- 20 g unsalted butter
- 100 g fresh ceps, cleaned and sliced
- 100 g pumpkin or butternut squash, cut into 5mm brunoise dice
- sea salt
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 378 kcal
- Protein
- 17 g
- Carbohydrates
- 14 g
- Fat
- 31 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sugar
- 3 g
- Sodium
- 996 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 16 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 10 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 3 g
- Cholesterol
- 64 mg
- Potassium
- 1309 mg
- Calcium
- 297 mg
- Iron
- 6.3 mg
- Magnesium
- 144 mg
- Phosphorus
- 474 mg
- Zinc
- 1.7 mg
- Vitamin A
- 435 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 31 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.5 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 1.3 mg
- Vitamin K
- 5 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.6 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.2 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.28 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.52 mg
- Niacin
- 3.5 mg
- Folate
- 99 mcg
- Water
- 288 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Melt 30g of butter in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and crushed garlic, sauteing until translucent and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
Add the 800g diced pumpkin to the pot and stir to coat in the butter and alliums. Pour in the hot vegetable stock and drop in the parmesan rind if using. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer around 90C/194F.
Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and let it cook until the pumpkin is completely tender and falling apart, roughly 25 to 30 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat and carefully fish out and discard the parmesan rind. Transfer the soup to a high-speed blender and blend on high for 2 minutes until completely smooth.
Pour the blended soup back into the pot over very low heat. Stir in the heavy cream and grated parmesan cheese until the cheese is completely melted. Do not let it boil. Keep warm.
While keeping the soup warm, toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry frying pan over medium heat until they begin to pop and smell nutty. Remove from the pan and set aside.
In the same frying pan, heat the olive oil and 20g of butter over medium-high heat. Add the finely diced pumpkin and sliced ceps. Fry without moving for 2 minutes to develop a crust, then toss and cook until everything is deeply golden and crispy.
Ladle the hot soup into warmed bowls. Spoon the crispy fried ceps and pumpkin mixture into the center of each bowl, and scatter the toasted pumpkin seeds over the top. Serve immediately.
Chef's Notes
- Using a parmesan rind in the simmering broth adds an incredible depth of savory umami that elevates the natural sweetness of the pumpkin without requiring meat-based stocks.
- For the absolute smoothest, restaurant-quality texture, ensure you blend the soup on high speed for at least two full minutes before optionally passing it through a fine mesh sieve.
- When frying the ceps, ensure the pan is hot enough to sear them quickly. Mushrooms are like sponges; a hot sear prevents them from releasing all their moisture and becoming rubbery.
- Reserve the garnish preparation until just before serving to maintain the maximum textural contrast of the crispy pumpkin and seeds against the velvety soup.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Store the soup base only. Prepare garnish fresh when serving.
Freezer: 3 months — Freeze without the cream and parmesan stirred in; add them upon reheating.
Reheating: Warm gently on the stove over low heat, stirring frequently. Do not let it boil to prevent the cheese from splitting.
Troubleshooting
Soup texture is grainy or coarse
Cause: Parmesan was added while the soup was boiling causing the cheese proteins to curdle, or the soup was not blended long enough
Fix: Pass the soup through a fine mesh sieve before serving
Prevention: Remove the soup from direct heat before whisking in the grated cheese, and blend thoroughly on high speed
Mushrooms became soggy instead of crispy
Cause: The pan was crowded or the heat was too low, causing the mushrooms to steam in their own juices
Fix: Increase the heat and pour off any excess liquid, continuing to fry until browned
Prevention: Ensure the pan is very hot before adding mushrooms and do not overcrowd them
Cultural Context
Pumpkin soups have a long lineage in European peasant cooking, traditionally relying on robust winter squash to provide sustenance through the colder months. The addition of aged parmesan and prized foraged mushrooms like ceps, also known as porcini, transforms this humble staple into a dish of refined culinary elegance. This distinct contrast between the rustic, earthy sweetness of the squash and the aristocratic umami of the cheese creates a timeless autumnal profile.
