After years of turning all my soups into liquid velvet, I recently and suddenly became a chunky soup conversion.
This change in preference happened almost overnight, and I don’t know what caused it, but since the beginning of the fall and the first games of the season, I can’t think of a bigger change. Desirable soup format than cubes, coins and ribbons of vegetables mixed into a broth. There’s something to chew on AND slurp, and the combination of the two provides greater satisfaction than one or the other.
A few things to keep in mind when making this type of soup: First you need to chop the vegetables also sizes and shapesthen they will form a coherent whole in the bowl. This is less of a concern when making a blended soup, but here you have to imagine that the pieces you add will remain largely the same once cooked, so you want smaller morsels.
I can’t think of a more desirable soup format than cubes, coins and ribbons of vegetables mixed into a broth. There is chewing and drinking, and the combination of the two provides greater satisfaction than one or the other.
Secondly, you will get the best results if the mix of ingredients you use includes one that gives body to the soup, and by that I mean enough starch to make the broth have substance, rather than seeming watery. A small amount of floury potatoes or split peas is fine.
Third, if you find yourself in a position to add a sprinkle fresh herbs – leaves or flowers – on the surface of the bowls, the soup will light up and love you for it. Nuts they’re also a great seasoning, and if you happen to have a colossal stash of walnuts, you might agree that they’re truly a one-size-fits-all nut for fall soups.
My favorite version at the moment, which I’ve been making weekly for the last month, is this one chunky pumpkin soup: This is pumpkin (this is a surprise), shallots, potatoes and chard greens or a bunch of young turnips.
Here are the tricks that make it, in my humble opinion, really, really good: first, I use a mix of floury and waxy potatoes, so that the former thicken the soup while the latter provide cubes of potato pulp to bite into. And two, when the soup is cooked, I top it with a big dollop of harissathe North African puree of hot chili peppers and garlic, and this gives it a touch of heat and spiciness.
Like all soup recipes, this one could be configured to suit your preferences and the feel of your vegetable drawer: just last week I included the stem of a head of broccoli left over from making a broccoli salad (please tell me you don’t throw them away), and two weeks earlier, I had added some white radishes, finely cut until they were transparent and scattered on the surface like rice paper confetti.
~~~
If you’re celebrating Thanksgiving this Thursday and I’m still trying to decide what to make, this soup might be a good, easy option. I can also suggest the following recipes:
~ Mini-focaccias with carrots and rosemary,
~ Mache salad with endive and beetroot,
~ Sunchoke Soup with Bacon,
~ Brussels sprouts with onions and pumpkin seeds,
~ Roasted cauliflower with saffron,
~ Chard gratin with vegan bechamel,
~ Gratin dauphinois (potato gratin),
~ Carrot and ginger quickie,
~ Banana Pecan Cake with Maple Frosting,
~ Quince and almond cake,
~ Spiced Brown Butter Crunch.
Have you tried this? Share your photos on Instagram!
Please tag your photos with #cnzrecipes. I’ll share my favorites!
Chunky pumpkin soup recipe
Ingredients
- 3 medium onions or large shallot, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- a large wedge pumpkinabout 1.5 kilos, seeded, peeled and diced
- 4 small or 2 medium potatoespreferably half waxy and half floury, rubbed (I don’t peel them) and cut into cubes
- vegetables or chicken actionideally homemade
- THE green from 2-3 stalks of chard or the tops of a bunch of turnips, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp harissaor to taste
- coriander flowers or leaves, to garnish
- nutsshelled and crumbled, for garnish (optional)
- vegetable oil
- salt
Instructions
- Heat a nice drizzle of oil in a pan. Add the onions, sprinkle with salt and cook over medium heat for a few minutes, stirring often, until they have softened. Add the cumin seeds and cook for another minute or two, until fragrant.
- Add the pumpkin and potatoes, season with salt and add the broth to cover the vegetables (add water if necessary). Cover, bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked and the pumpkin is soft.
- Remove the soup from the heat and mash it lightly with a wooden spoon to obtain a good mix of consistencies.
- Dissolve the harissa in a spoonful of the cooking liquid from a small bowl and add it to the soup. Add the chopped vegetables and incorporate them; they will cook quickly in the hot liquid.
- Taste, adjust the seasoning and reheat, then serve with a sprinkling of coriander flowers or leaves and crumbled walnuts, if you have them.
3.1
https://cnz.to/recipes/soups/chunky-pumpkin-soup-recipe/
Unless otherwise indicated, all recipes are copyright Clotilde Dusoulier.
